‘Problems breathing’: Man Utd star becomes latest footballer to face heart fears (VIDEO)
David De Gea has thrown his support behind Victor Lindelof after the Swedish defender was taken off during Manchester United's win against Norwich on Saturday after complaining of chest pains and breathing difficulties.
Lindelof was taken off with 15 minutes remaining as Ralf Ragnick maintained his undefeated run as United interim boss at Carrow Road, after the former Benfica man appeared in obvious discomfort and held his hand to his chest, prompting immediate concern from his teammates and the Manchester United medical staff.
Reports indicate that the 27-year-old center back complained to medics that he was suffering from chest pains and a racing pulse after what appeared to have been a mild collision with an opponent during the Red Devil's 1-0 win.
Lindelof removes himself from the pitch, seemingly complaining about ‘chest pains’ pic.twitter.com/la4bhL0tlh
— Anonymous UK Citizen (@AnonCitizenUK) December 11, 2021
United boss Ragnick, who succeeded Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Old Trafford hot seat at the end of November, confirmed to the media afterwards that Lindelof had complained that he was suffering from various maladies, including a shortness of breath.
"Victor had problems to breathe and his heart rate was higher than normal. He was a little shocked," the German said after the game.
"He can’t remember how it happened but he had a collision with another player. After the game we checked him.
"It seems everything is OK but we will have to see tomorrow. Hopefully he will be fit for Tuesday against Brentford."
🗣 "The game doesn't matter."David de Gea gives an update on Victor Lindelof saying his health is more important than the game pic.twitter.com/QXrSQ3ogy1
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 11, 2021
Rangnick on Lindelof: “He was struggling to breathe and felt pain on his chest. They did all the tests on him and everything seems to be okay 🙌” [@footballdaily] pic.twitter.com/BC2ykgyH6Q
— United Zone (@ManUnitedZone_) December 11, 2021
Adding his concern was United goalkeeper De Gea, who was again pivotal in helping his side to victory in what was a below par performance against the relegation-threatened Norwich, and said that recent incidents involving Christian Eriksen and Sergio Aguero had initially left him fearing the worst.
"As soon as it was like difficult breathing and feeling strange, the game doesn't matter," said De Gea afterwards. "First of all is life. Football doesn't matter.
"We saw some players who are feeling a bit of problems with their breathing. We saw Eriksen and Aguero.
"It is difficult to see your players acting like this and I hope he is fine. As soon I saw it was difficulty with breathing, it does not matter about the game – the main thing is to be safe."
A Cristiano Ronaldo strike from the penalty spot was enough to hand his side all three points, but attention will now turn to Lindelof's health status ahead of Tuesday's visit to Brentford – and with Raphael Varane another injury absentee, it could mean that Ragnick's rearguard could be further stretched amid an intense December calendar of domestic action for his side.
