Choirul Huda, an Indonesian goalkeeper, has tragically passed away after a devastating collision with a teammate.
But on the stroke of half-time, as Huda bravely rushed out to pounce on a loose pass before an attacker, his teammate Ramon Rodrigues collided with him in what was a sickening impact.
WARNING: Some viewers may find the following footage distressing.
Straight away, Huda was in serious discomfort and placed on a stretcher. He was immediately rushed to hospital but later pronounced dead on Sunday evening at 5.15pm local time (11.15am GMT).
The incident that caused Choirul Huda to collapse. He passed away of hypoxia; lack of oxygen after the collision. 🙁 pic.twitter.com/ABzZSfQHgQ
— Akbår Zulfikår (@zulfikar11_) October 15, 2017
As per a statement on the official Persela website, Dr Yudistiro Andri Nugroho described the incident as a “traumatic collision”, with the initial analysis being that there was a “possibility of “chest, head and neck trauma” due to the blow to the chest and lower jaw.
Having been knocked unconscious, Huda’s breathing was greatly affected and he later suffered a cardiac arrest and died. Doctors at the Dr Soegiri Lamongan hospital in Lamongan, East Java, spent an hour attempting to revive him but were unsuccessful in doing so, as there were “no signs of normal life”.
Huda made his first-team debut for Persela in 1999 and went on to make over 500 appearances for the club. His club have led tributes to their fallen goalkeeper, referring to him as ‘the real legend of Persela’.