Soccer-Bordeaux striker Kalu collapses on the pitch
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group Stage - Group C - Bordeaux v Zenit Saint Petersburg - Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux, France - November 8, 2018 Bordeaux's Samuel Kalu in action with Zenit Saint Petersburg's Aleksandr Erokhin REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
Girondins de Bordeaux striker Samuel Kalu collapsed in the sixth minute of their Ligue 1 match at Olympique de Marseille on Sunday and was substituted after briefly returning to the pitch.
Amid searing temperatures at the Stade Velodrome, medics carrying a stretcher rushed to attend Kalu, but the player was able to get up and walk off the pitch with the help of his team mates, holding an ice pack against his head.
The Nigeria international resumed playing several moments later but appeared groggy and was substituted in the 14th minute.
The stadium went silent during the incident, which brought back memories of Christian Eriksen's collapse at Euro 2020 in June when the Denmark midfielder suffered a heart attack.
Eriksen's life was saved when CPR was administered to him on the pitch and his heart was re-started with a defibrillator before he was taken to hospital, where he recovered after undergoing heart surgery.
(Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Toby Davis)
