As Spain and Sevilla mourned the death of Antonio Puerta, the dramatic locker room collapse of Sunderland’s defender, Clive Clarke on loan to Leicester sent shock waves through the soccer fraternity in England.
It remains to be seen whether Clarke also like Puerta had right ventricular arrythmia which is the leading cause of sudden cardiac arrests and syncope in endurance athletes. Clarke however seems to have recovered enough to sit up and talk.
The tragic death of Puerta and the sudden collapse of Clive Clarke signals a more serious health concern than the myriad hamstring and ankle sprains that soccer players go through in their career. One step would be to instill more discerning cardiac tests and ascertain previous health information including family history of cardiac problems that might prevent athletes at risk from grievous harm.
These collapses took place in the most followed soccer leagues and in developed countries with superior health care. We can only imagine what the situation might possibly be in less developed countries with less visible leagues. I don’t think we have the statistics on that. This is something that the FIFA should take a constructive lead on.