A 21-year-old Argentine soccer player has succumbed to his serious head injuries this morning. Emanuel Ortega of fifth-tier club San Martín de Burzaco suffered a double skull fracture on the pitch two weeks ago in a match against Juventud Unida. In the above video, you can see Ortega go shoulder-to-shoulder with an opposing player while trying to keep the ball in-bounds. The physical challenge on Ortega saw him fly into the concrete wall and hit the back of his head.
Ortega received immediate medical attention and was rushed to the hospital for surgery. At the time, San Martín manager Critstian Ferlauto was gravely concerned for the well-being of his young player.
"He has a serious trauma to the skull and there is a worrying amount of blood," he said.
Ferlauto has absolved the player whose challenge knocked Ortega into the wall, saying that he didn't see any intent. Ortega's manager, however, was quick to blame the stadium, because there's no way a concrete wall should reasonably be THAT close to the field of play.
"The wall is just a metre from the line. It's crazy, there's no protection. The security measures are taken thinking about the fans, and the fence is so high so that they can't throw stones, but some things are more important," he said.
Last month, a British soccer player died of a head injury after colliding with a fence near the field.
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[via 101GreatGoals]
