FC Barcelona Medical Experts Believe Player Could Have Heart Condition
FC Barcelona’s medical experts want to rule out the possibility that star defender Joao Cancelo could have a hereditary heart condition according to RAC1, which cited anonymous sources.
Cancelo has been a roaring success at Barca while on loan from Manchester City, and it is widely-believed that president Joan Laporta will try to make his stay permanent in the summer.
On Tuesday last week, the Portuguese was on a high after scoring at the Montjuic Stadium in a 3-1 win over Napoli, and guaranteeing that the Catalans advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in four years upon beating the Italians 4-2 overall in their last 16 clash.
At the weekend, it was initially expected that Cancelo would line up at left back for the Blaugrana in an important La Liga showdown with Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano.
Hours before kick off, though, the publishing of head coach Xavi Hernandez’s squad list revealed that Cancelo had been left out of the trip to the Spanish capital.
As Cancelo has done for Alejandro Balde since the La Masia graduate was ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery in January, Hector Fort stepped up in Cancelo’s absence and put in a stellar performance as a right back operating at left back.
Again netting like he did at Napoli’s expense, Fermin Lopez dedicated his goal versus Atleti to Cancelo, who he said was “having a hard time”.
According to RAC1, Cancelo missed the late night partidazo – where Xavi hailed a “brilliant” Barca for inflicting the home side’s first defeat of the season in their fortress – as a “precaution”.
This was decided because a relative of Cancelo’s has a heart problem, and the club’s medical experts want to rule out that it is not hereditary or that the player doesn’t have it too.
Though it hopefully doesn’t reach the same conclusion, the case has echoes of Sergio Aguero’s plight in 2021.
The Argentine joined Barca from Cancelo’s parent club Manchester City in the summer of that year but retired in December after being unable to continue during a Camp Nou match versus Alaves.
Aguero was later diagnosed with a cardiac arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat, and though he recently revealed that a cardiologist has told him he might be able to play again, a comeback is yet to materialise.
