Juan Izquierdo is a football player who collapsed during the Copa Libertadores match between Nacional and Sao Paulo and suffered a heart attack and is currently in intensive care | Football | Sports

Uruguay national team football player Juan Izquierdo, who was hospitalized for two days after collapsing during a match against Brazil’s Sao Paulo, “suffered a cardiac arrest” and was “treated with sedation, mechanical ventilation and neuro-intensive care,” they said on Saturday, Aug. 24, the attending doctors.

“Strength, Juan!” the Uruguayan club posted on social networks about the latest health update of the 27-year-old defender, who collapsed during Thursday’s Copa Libertadores duel in the capital Sao Paulo.

The medical report shows that Izquierdo was “admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Israel at 8:55 pm on August 22, 2024, due to cardiac arrest, caused by arrhythmia, the onset of which is unknown.”

He added: “The hospital immediately initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation operations, including defibrillation procedures, and the patient has regained spontaneous circulation.”

“From that moment on, Juan was admitted to the intensive care unit, receiving sedation, mechanical ventilation and neurocritical care,” concluded the statement signed by neurologist Marcos Vinícius Tadao Fujino, cardiologist Carlos Vicente Serrano Júnior and Miguel Cendoroglo Neto, medical director of the hospital center.

The Nacional player collapsed at the Estadio Morumbi in the 84th minute of their Copa Libertadores quarter-final clash with Sao Paulo. Izquierdo, who replaced Sebastian Coates after half-time, was quickly helped by an ambulance and taken to hospital.

The match ended with São Paulo winning 2-0 and Nacional being eliminated from the continental championship, leaving Izquierdo in shock.

In Uruguay, the Professional Footballers Mutual Aid Association suspended the second match of a local tournament that was scheduled for this weekend.

Izquierdo’s wife, Selena, who just gave birth to their second child, sent an emotional message through her husband’s social network. “His 2-year-old daughter and 8-day-old son are waiting for him at home,” he wrote. “He has a lot to live for. Please pray for him.” (Four)