Barcelona forward Sergio Agüero was hospitalised after complaining of chest pains during a match.
Agüero, 33, was making his much delayed full home debut against Alaves. Just before half-time, he experienced dizziness. Then, to the distress of some watching fans, he fell to the ground clutching his chest.
He had already signalled to the bench that he wanted to come off when the situation quickly got worse.
The team’s medical staff rushed on to the pitch immediately, and tried to place him on a stretcher. However, in the end, he got up by himself, and slowly walked off the pitch unassisted.
He was immediately replaced by Philippe Coutinho and went to hospital to undergo more tests to determine why he was struggling to breathe.
It was later revealed that his heart rate was significantly above normal, although his condition subsequently stabilised.
For many, the incident of Denmark’s Christian Eriksen is still fresh in the mind. Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark in the Euros. But for the swift intervention of medical staff and the fact that a defibrillator was available, would almost certainly have died on the pitch that day.
Top-level players are rigorously tested physically on a regular basis, but the demands of a match may trigger deep underlying medical conditions that tests cannot detect.
It has been a less-than-auspicious start for Agüero at his new club. Manchester City’s record goal scorer joined them as a free agent in the summer after his contract at the Etihad ran down, and was hoping to form a partnership with his close friend Lionel Messi.
However, the club’s financial difficulties meant that Messi was allowed to leave to join Barcelona, whilst Agüero could not be registered as a player until cost reductions had been made.
Even when he was finally registered an injury kept him out of action for several weeks. He appeared as a substitute in the El Clásico against Real Madrid and even scored his first goal for his new club, but it was in a losing cause.