Tragedy has struck the South American Copa Libertadores as Uruguay Nacional from Montevideo player Juan Izquierdo collapsed on the field last Thursday during a game against Sao Paul in Brazil. According to the club, the 27-year-old defender passed away on Tuesday after fighting for his life these past few days. When he initially collapsed last Thursday, he was revived on the field and taken to the Sao Paulo’s Albert Einstein hospital in critical condition. His condition worsened and he was in need of a ventilator. After only a few days plugged to the ventilator, Izquierdo shockingly passed away. Juan leaves behind two children and wife.

Juan Izquierdo cause of death

Nacional Club de Montevideo issued a statement on their social media outlets and lamented the shocking development. They made the announcement and expressed their condolences after the tragedy. This is what they wrote on their social meia accounts: “It is with deepest pain and shock in our hearts that Club Nacional de Football announces the passing of our beloved player Juan Izquierdo. We express our sincere condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and loved ones. All of Nacional is mourning his irreparable loss. RIP. Juan, you will be with us forever.”

According to the coroner at Albert Einstein hospital, Juan Izquierdo’s initial cause of death is a cardian arrest. However, we still need to wait and see if the family requests an autopsy in order to have a more exact cause of death. If them, Conmebol, or the Brazilian authority doesn’t ask for this autopsy, the cause f death will be a cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, Juan Izquierdo becomes one more statistic of an unfortunate occurance in sports. Athletes collapsing from a heart attack is not too common but it has happened a few times every year. After the global pandemic, the number of athletes who suffered the same has increased considerably.