Hyderabad: Uruguayan footballer Juan Izquierdo who collapsed on the pitch due to an irregular heartbeat last week has passed away. His club Nacional made an announcement on their social media handle.
The 27-year-old has been receiving medical attention ever since he collapsed during the second-leg fixture between Club Nacional and Sao Paulo in the Round of 16 at the Morumbi Stadium in Brazil on August 22.
Con el más profundo dolor e impacto en nuestros corazones, el Club Nacional de Football comunica el fallecimiento de nuestro querido jugador Juan Izquierdo.
— Nacional (@Nacional) August 28, 2024
Expresamos nuestras más sinceras condolencias a su familia, amigos, colegas y allegados.
Todo Nacional está de luto por… pic.twitter.com/mYU28mqw6m
“It is with the deepest sorrow and shock in our hearts that the Club Nacional announces the death of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo,” Nacional wrote on X. “We express our most sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. All of Nacional is in mourning for his irreparable loss.”
Sao Paulo called it a ‘sad day for football’. The Uruguayan defender was taken to the Hospital Albert Einstein after collapsing last Thursday. The hospital said in a statement that he was suffering from increased intracranial pressure. The 27-year-old had been on a ventilator since Sunday and has been under neurological critical care since Monday.
The first and second-division football leagues in the country were postponed on the weekend after the collapse of the Uruguayan footballer. The players of the Sao Paulo side wore a shirt in support of him on Sunday during their fixture against Vitoria.
Izquierdo fell to the ground unconscious in the 84th minute of the game against Sao Paulo on Thursday in the 84th minutes. The medical assistant was immediately called and the footballer was taken off the pitch in an ambulance for medical attention amidst the applause from the crowd. He was then taken to the Hospital Albert Einstein and was treated in the Intensive Care Unit there.
