'I very much doubt Casillas will play professional football again,' says Spanish cardiologist

The 37-year-old was rushed to hospital after suffering a heart attack on Wednesday.

A SPANISH CARDIOLOGIST has warned that Iker Casillas, who suffered a heart attack during training with Porto on Wednesday, might never play professional football again.

Juan Antonio Corbalan, who is also a former Real Madrid, believes that the World Cup-winning goalkeeper is unlikely to return to play football at a professional level due to the severity of the incident and the steps required to prevent another myocardial incident.

“You cannot play football with a stent,” he told RTVE. “And that particularly applies to a goalkeeper.

Iker will end up returning to enjoy a normal life but I very much doubt he will play professional football again.”

Those thoughts were echoed by fellow cardiologist Miguel Marina: “The first 24 hours will be key,” he told El Partidazo. “When he is discharged from hospital he will have to live life at a more relaxed pace and take things easy.

“He will also be on medication and then we’ll see how things develop from there.”

However, other medical experts have suggested that the 37-year-old might have a chance of making a full return to professional football.

Casillas was rushed to hospital following his collapse and was treated well enough in time to ensure he was out of danger, with the former Real Madrid man taking to social media to thank fans for their support.

“All under control here,” he wrote from his hospital bed. “A bit of a shock but I’m full of strength. Thanks very much to everyone for the messages of support and love.”

With Casillas seemingly on the mend, concern turned into curiosity as to when the Spanish icon would return to the pitch.

And while several medical professionals urged patience and caution, the prognosis seemed to be quite positive.

We will have to wait to see how his body heals and then study the results of the rigorous medical tests he will be put through,” Dr Jose Gonzalez told AS. “His heart could return to functioning as normal and he might have the chance to return to his profession.”

Cardiologist Jose Calabuig struck a similar tone between caution and optimism, telling Cadena SER’s El Larguero: “Physically, if there is no scarring then there’s a chance the muscle will heal. Within a timeframe of three to six months the situation can be assessed.

“If it all goes well then he will certainly be able to return to work.”

Additional reporting by Sinéad Farrell

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