Heartbreaking scenes as Atletico Madrid superstar collapses
Football
By
Mirror
| Mar 24, 2021
Atletico Madrid suffered a scare during training on Tuesday after their forward Moussa Dembele fainted and appeared to lose consciousness.
Footage showed the 24-year-old going through stretches before falling backwards and lying motionless on the ground.
His teammates quickly rushed to his aid before calling for help from the medical staff, who spent a number of minutes trying to resuscitate the player.
There was naturally a great deal of concern about the former Fulham and Celtic man, but fortunately, he eventually recovered and was able to leave the pitch unassisted.
It is believed low blood pressure was the cause of the incident, and the problem does not appear to have been anything more serious.
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Dembele joined Atletico on a 'loan with an option to buy' deal from French side Lyon in January, but has barely featured so far, making just two La Liga appearances.
He came on as a substitute in both legs of the team's Champions League last-16 exit to Chelsea, but was unable to make much of an impact in either encounter.
And his manager Diego Simeone has fired a warning to the underperforming star that the move will not be made permanent unless his performances improve soon.
"I always say that the number of minutes is not important. What matters is the quality of these minutes," Simeone said.
"I hope that Dembele can bring us what we hoped for when he arrived in the team."
Spanish outlet Marca have reported that Dembele will be given opportunities to prove his worth in the coming weeks.
But with Atletico chasing the La Liga title, if he does not get off the mark soon it seems highly unlikely Simeone will have much patience.