The agent of Montpellier star Junior Sambia has confirmed that his client has been placed in a medically induced coma, as the 23-year-old continues his fight against the coronavirus.
Football world hit hard
The outbreak of COVID-19 (more commonly referred to as the coronavirus) has of course been headline news across the globe for several weeks now.
As of this afternoon, over 2.8 million people have tested positive for the disease worldwide.
Amongst these cases, meanwhile, have been a host of high-profile football names, from across Europe and beyond.
The likes of Mikel Arteta, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Marouane Fellaini and Paolo Maldini were all diagnosed last month.
Italian giants Juventus also saw a trio of first-team stars test positive.
Hola a todos, quería comunicarles que acabamos de recibir los resultados del test del Covid-19 y tanto Oriana como yo dimos positivo. Por fortuna nos encontramos en perfecto estado. Gracias por sus mensajes y un saludo a todos 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/g1X1Qtx2S3
— Paulo Dybala (@PauDybala_JR) March 21, 2020
Sambia concern
And, as outlined above, confirmation of yet another positive COVID-19 test at a club in one of Europe’s top leagues has today been forthcoming.
The outfit in question are Montpellier, with midfielder Junior Sambia the player struggling at present.
Concern surrounding Sambia’s wellbeing first began to circulate earlier this week, when it was revealed that the Frenchman had been placed in an intensive care unit, after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19.
Junior Sambia, qui présente des symptômes faisant suspecter une possible contamination au Covid-19, a été placé ce jeudi dans un service de réanimation compte tenu de la dégradation de son état de santé https://t.co/hLEUgwcEVs pic.twitter.com/IYUumo51X2
— L’ÉQUIPE (@lequipe) April 23, 2020
An update on the 23-year-old, who had managed 17 Ligue 1 appearances this season before the global football shutdown last month, meanwhile, has arrived this weekend.
The news, however, is far from positive.
Speaking in an interview with Le Parisien, Sambia’s agent, Frederic Guerra, revealed that his client has been placed in an ‘artificial coma’, after the Lyon native’s condition ‘worsened’ on Wednesday.
Thankfully, as things stand, though, Sambia remains stable:
‘His condition is stable this Friday. It has not deteriorated, nor improved.’
‘It is tough. He really respected confinement. He did everything well. He must have contracted the virus while shopping.’
‘He suffered three days of severe diarrhoea – like gastroenteritis. Then, on Tuesday morning, he went to the hospital. I reached him when he was on an IV.’
‘He had just received the COVID-19 test result. This one was negative. He was due to leave on Wednesday, then his condition worsened with his lungs.’