In the 85th minute of Thursday’s Atletico Madrid-Deportivo La Coruña La Liga match, Fernando Torres took a nasty, accidental hit to the head from Deportivo midfielder Alex Bergantiños as both men went up for a header. “El Niño” appeared to be instantly knocked out as his head slammed the floor, with players from both teams immediately calling for emergency personnel to come to Torres’s aid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TwKDuj1GiI
The 32-year-old Torres was rushed to the hospital, where scans revealed no long-lasting neck or brain injuries. The Spanish international spent the night in the hospital for observation, and it is reported that he will have to rest for up to 48 hours. Bergantiños reportedly visited Torres in the hospital, where the injured striker told him to “relax” and that these things happen on the field.
In a press conference after the match, Atletico manager Diego Simeone spoke about the injury, sharing that the entire club was worried for Torres. He went on to say that he “heard a crack from the bench, I don’t know if it was the neck or what. But I heard something. The movement of his head did not look good.” Despite the injury, the match did continue after Torres was transferred to a waiting ambulance. The final score was 1-1.
As of midnight Spanish time on Thursday night, however, Torres was reported to be stable. A statement was posted to his Twitter account, thanking everyone for their support and good wishes:
Torres was discharged from the hospital early on Friday morning, with the Atletico Twitter account posting a photo of the striker giving the thumbs-up.