Samuel Kalu scared his teammates at Bordeaux after he went down during a French Ligue 1 game between his club and Marseille on Sunday, August 15, 2021.
The incident happened at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome when Marseille’s 34-year-old midfielder, Dimitri Payet, was preparing to play a free-kick in the 6th minute of the game.
Immediately Samuel Kalu collapsed on the pitch, his teammates called the attention of the medical team at the stadium who came to his rescue. After a couple of minutes, he was able to stand on his feet and walked to the sidelines.
In the pictures that emanated from the game, Samuel Kalu could be seen holding a bottle of water which he emptied on his head to maintain a cooler temperature. Shortly after, he returned to the pitch to continue with the game.
It was not too long before the 23-year-old Nigeria striker was substituted and was replaced by Remy Oudin in the 14th minute of the game.
The match continued without Samuel Kalu and there was no much report concerning the incident until after the game.
Kalu’s incident reminded Bordeaux and the club’s fans about the incident involving Denmark international Christian Eriksen. Recall that the Danish attacking midfielder collapsed on the pitch during Euro 2020 game between Denmark and Finland.
Unlike Samuel Kalu’s incident that ended within the stadium, Eriksen was rushed to the hospital after it was confirmed that he had suffered a cardiac arrest. He was operated upon and a defibrillator was implanted in him to help his heart start when necessary.
In the case of Samuel Kalu, his collapse on the pitch was reportedly caused by the hot temperature in the stadium, not a cardiac arrest.
According to Remy Oudin who scored Bordeaux’s equalizer in the game that ended 2-2, doctors said Samuel Kalu experienced a dizzy moment and he is currently fine.
Oudin said: “It gave us a bit of a chill and it’s still quite shocking. According to the doctor, it was just a dizzy spell.
“We’re happy for Kalu, everything is fine and that’s the most important thing.
“We inevitably thought about what happened with (Denmark midfielder Christian) Eriksen, the whole team, and everyone was scared.”
This is the second time Kalu has collapsed on the pitch. The first time he experienced such an incident was when he was on international duty with the Super Eagles of Nigeria. He reportedly collapsed during training due to dehydration.
Samuel Kalu has been playing for Bordeaux since August 6, 2018, after he left Belgian side Gent for €8.50 million.
So far in his career with the French club, the winger has scored 9 goals and provided 7 assists in 76 games in all competitions. His contract with the French club would last until June 30, 2023.
