Former Manchester United forward Diego Forlan was rushed to hospital with three broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung following a nasty coming together in a veterans match in Uruguay.
The frightening incident occurred while Forlan was turning out for his side Old Boys of their over-40s Liga Universitaria clash with Old Christians on Saturday.
The 46-year-old, who won the Golden Ball award on the 2010 World Cup, is claimed to have fallen awkwardly after a heavy aerial collision with one in all Old Christians’ players, leaving him in serious discomfort.
In keeping with Uruguayan publication El Observador, Forlan ‘gave everyone a scare’ as he lay motionless on the turf within the amateur match.
A video captured from the sidelines shows several of Forlan’s Old Boy’s team-mates running over to comfort the ex-United man, who also represented the likes of Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Villarreal across a glittering playing profession.
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After receiving medical attention on the sphere, Forlan was transported to a close-by hospital, where his lung ‘needed to be drained on account of the fluid that had entered it’.
The previous Uruguay international, who was capped 112 times by his country, is predicted to stay in hospital until Tuesday.
Forlan had scored twice within the match before the collision, with Old Boys playing on in his absence to secure a snug 4-1 victory.
The report claims Forlan is now in a ‘good condition’, with the 2002/03 Premier League winner telling close friends that he holds no will towards his opponent involved within the clash.
‘They’re going to confess me and put a tube in to empty the blood. I’ll be hospitalised until Tuesday,’ Forlan reportedly told pals on WhatsApp from his hospital bed.
‘In 20 years as knowledgeable, this has never happened to me before.’
Forlan added: ‘It wasn’t his fault. The reality is, it wasn’t his fault.
‘He knocked me off balance and I used to be within the air, you see? And my hand stayed there… I couldn’t get it out to support myself.
‘I fell like a sack of potatoes.’
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After a transient spell with Kitchee within the Hong Kong Premier League, Forlan officially announced his retirement from skilled football in August 2019.
Nonetheless, as of last yr, Forlan has been competing as knowledgeable tennis player, stunning fans as he made his ATP debut on the 2024 Uruguay Open.
‘I want something where I can run,’ Forlan told The Athletic about his switch to tennis.
‘Golf, you play in beautiful places – I prefer it and I still do it, but I want something different, something more just like football.
‘I began training and playing tennis and I used to be recovering and higher. At first, I might play the highest players on the club and players from around Uruguay and it was easy for them to beat me.
‘Then it became tougher. Now I can win. On the club tournaments, I used to be losing in the primary round, now I’m winning quite a lot of them.’
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