Spanish football coach of Atletico Portada Alta, only of age 21 dies of coronavirus after he learnt in hospital that he had leukaemia.
With the rising number of cases in Spain, Francisco Garcia a coach of a youth team in the Malaga based club Atletico Portada Alta dies of Coronavirus having been suffering from a form of leukaemia.
The 21-year-old coach was unknown to the pre-existing health condition that resulted in him being more vulnerable to the virus than usual for an individual of his age.
Garcia got to know about the leukaemia when he was diagnosed in the hospital, he reached for medical assistance once he showed symptoms of coronavirus.
According to Spanish newspaper Malaga Hoy, Garcia was advised to seek further medical help after struggling to breathe and was told that he had both coronavirus and pneumonia.
Infectious disease experts said that had Garcia not been suffering from leukaemia, he would likely have survived the bout of coronavirus. Atletico Portada Alta released a statement announcing his death.
The club statement read: “We want to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and close friends of our coach Francisco Garcia who has left us, unfortunately.
“Now what do we do without you, Francis? How are we going to continue conquering … in the league? We don’t know how, but we will surely do it for you. We will not forget you, rest in peace, phenomenon. Until forever.”
Primeiro caso de morte no futebol devido ao Coronavírus!
Francisco García, de 21 anos, treinava a equipe de juniores Atlético Portada Alta, de Málaga.
O técnico pertencia a um dos grupos de risco devido a uma doença oncológica que lhe havia sido diagnosticada recentemente. pic.twitter.com/AETEm6PXeK
— FutebolNews (@ofutebolnews) March 16, 2020
This comes as a huge shock to the football fraternity to in Spain. Earlier the players from Spanish leagues were away from the virus but on Sunday, Ezequiel Garay came out to be the first La Liga player to be diagnosed with COVID-19, followed by two of his teammates.
La Liga and other professional leagues in Spain have been suspended till the first week of April, but a further postponement or a total cancellation of the league is still on the cards.
