Scary news coming out of Amsterdam in the early hours of Friday morning, as Roy Nemer of Mundo Albiceleste reports that Manchester City and Argentina striker Sergio Agüero was involved in a car accident while in a taxi on his way back from a Maluma concert in the Dutch metropolis.
A statement released by City on Friday initially seemed to downplay the severity of the crash: “Sergio Agüero will be assessed by Club doctors today after being involved in a road accident on Thursday. The City forward was in Holland on his day off and has sustained injuries. He will return to Manchester this morning and his status will be checked ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash at Chelsea.”
A report since has confirmed that Agüero suffered a broken rib in the accident, and could miss up to 2 months for both City and Argentina’s national team. Speaking to Radio Metro de Argentina, the striker said of the crash “The taxi driver did not see the curve and skid. And when he skidded, we hit the pole. I broke my rib, now I’m resting. It hurts me badly. I’ll be discharged in a little while.”
The loss will come as a big blow to both of Agüero’s teams. Manchester City was off to a hot start in the Premier League, winning 5 of their first 6 games by a combined score; they currently sit at the top of the league alongside inter-city rivals Manchester United. Agüero was a big part of their success so far, having already tallied 6 goals and 3 assists this season.
It will also be a tough break for the Argentina national team, who will be without Agüero for their upcoming stretch of World Cup Qualifiers. With Argentina’s fate hanging in the balance–they’re currently in the last qualifying slot in the standings–they will be forced to fill the striker’s big shoes if they hope to qualify for Russia in 2018. What really matters, however, is that Agüero didn’t suffer any worse injuries; initial reports said that, if it weren’t for his seatbelt, he could have died in the accident. Thankfully, he’s ok for the most part, and he did get a fire pre-show selfie with Maluma himself, though.