STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Hungarian striker Barnabás Varga was hospitalized in stable condition after an apparently serious injury during his team’s final group match at the European Championship on Sunday.
Varga will likely have surgery after fracturing several bones in his face. The 29-year-old is also suffering from a concussion and will not play in the remainder of Euro 2024 if Hungary advance to the round of 16 as one of the four best teams for third place.
The Group A match against Scotland was suspended for almost 10 minutes so Varga could seek treatment after a collision with opposition goalkeeper Angus Gunn midway through the second half.
Varga’s teammates held up blankets to protect the player while medical staff tended to him, while everyone looked on with concern.
Both sets of fans cheered as Varga was laid out on a stretcher.
“Several bones in Barnabás Varga’s face were broken in the collision during the match, and he also suffered a concussion,” the Hungarian football federation wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the match.
“The Ferencváros striker will most likely have surgery. He spent the night in Stuttgart hospital. The whole team supports him! »
Hungary cruised to a 1-0 victory, thanks to a spectacular stoppage-time goal from substitute Kevin Csoboth.
“It was terrible. It was a terrible moment to see Barnabas like that,” Hungarian midfielder Roland Sallai said.
“Of course, we fought for him in the remaining 15 to 20 minutes, and we would have loved to win for him and we were very happy that we were able to do that. And yes, we dedicate that to him.
As Varga received treatment, no one in the stadium and no one watching on television had any idea what was happening or the extent of his injury – just that he was being treated by doctors, who had was frantically called onto the field by his teammates. .
The scenes in Stuttgart are reminiscent of an even more serious incident at the last European Championship, when Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch at Copenhagen’s Parken Stadium after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing his team’s opening match against Finland.
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AP Euro 2024:
