Uruguayan footballer in intensive care deteriorates after collapsing during Libertadores match

The condition of Juan Izquierdo, the player for Uruguayan side Nacional who is currently in intensive care after collapsing and suffering a heart attack during a match against Brazilian side Sao Paulo, has deteriorated in recent hours, according to a medical report released on Sunday.

A new medical update was released on Sunday for Juan Izquierdo, the Nacional de Uruguay player who collapsed during a Copa Libertadores match against Sao Paulo last Thursday.

The 27-year-old remains in intensive care in a Brazilian hospital, with concerns growing as his condition deteriorates.

Izquierdo has experienced "a progression of brain involvement and an increase in intracranial pressure", according to the medical team attending him at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in São Paulo, Brazil.

"Admitted on 22 August 2024 at 20:55, patient Juan Manuel Izquierdo underwent further investigations on Sunday 25 August. The evaluation showed a progression of the brain involvement and an increase in intracranial pressure," reads the medical report published by Nacional on its social media accounts.

"Juan remains in neurological intensive care, dependent on mechanical ventilation," the Uruguayan club's statement added.

Doctors had said on Saturday that the footballer had been hospitalised "in cardiac arrest of undetermined origin, secondary to an arrhythmia".

Izquierdo collapsed on the pitch at the Morumbi stadium in the 84th minute of the second leg of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier club football competition and the second most prestigious in the world after the UEFA Champions League.

The player, who had replaced Sebastián Coates after half-time, was quickly taken by ambulance to Sao Paulo hospital.

The match ended in a 2-0 victory for Sao Paulo, eliminating Nacional from the continental competition, but the incident left the entire stadium in shock.

 Players of Sao Paulo wears jerseys in solidarity with the player Juan Izquierdo. GETTY IMAGES
Players of Sao Paulo wears jerseys in solidarity with the player Juan Izquierdo. GETTY IMAGES

Since then, messages of support and solidarity have poured in. On Sunday, Sao Paulo wore light blue shirts emblazoned with the words "Fuerza Izquierdo" for their Brasileirao match against Vitória at the same stadium where the collapse occurred.

Uruguay star Luis Suárez dedicated his brace in Inter's win on Saturday to the Nacional defender. "Stay strong, Juan! We are all with you and your family," El Pistolero wrote on X.

"May God be with you," wished Liverpool's Uruguayan striker Darwin Núñez.

Uruguay's domestic league was suspended over the weekend following the incident and Nacional did not train on Sunday.

Club president Alejandro Balbi, who had returned to Montevideo, flew back to São Paulo on Sunday to be with Izquierdo's family. The player's wife Selena, who gave birth to their second child a week ago, and their two-year-old daughter are already in São Paulo with Izquierdo's parents.

Sofía Izquierdo, the central defender's sister, took to her Instagram account to urge people to stop spreading false information. "Good afternoon, false information has been spread about Juan's health. I am in touch with my parents. His heart is still beating, please be considerate," she said in a post on social media.