FORMER Premier League star Dani Osvaldo is reportedly in intensive care in Argentina after emergency surgery to remove part of his lung.
According to TyC Sports, the ex-Southampton and Italy striker was admitted to hospital in Buenos Aires.
Osvaldo, 40, recently started struggling with chest pains.
And it is thought things regressed in the last week – prompting his sister and friend to raise the alarm when they found him struggling.
After being taken in on Thursday evening, doctors found he had suffered a serious pleural effusion, where there is a build-up of excess fluid between the lung membrane linings and the chest wall.
And they deemed it necessary to perform the urgent surgery.
The procedure involved removing a small portion of lung tissue.
After the operation, the former footballer was transferred to ICU.
Osvaldo, who was born and raised in Argentina but played internationally for Italy, remains under close observation at the public hospital.
No further information has been reported by the hospital or local media in Argentina at this stage but the news of the operation and intensive care are deeply worrying.
What is a pleural effusion?
THE NHS explains that a pleural effusion is also known as “fluid on the lung.”
Normally when you breathe in and out, the lung closely follows the inside of the chest wall but they are not stuck together.
The lung has a fine cling film-like covering with a tiny amount of fluid between it and the chest wall, which allows them to slide easily past each other, lubricating them as they move.
Sometimes fluid builds up in space between the lung and chest wall. This is called a pleural effusion.
There are many causes of a pleural effusion.
Often it is caused by a problem going on within the lung or chest (such as pneumomia, cancer, an injury) or a problem elsewhere in your body.
The most common symptom is breathlessness, which worsens over time.
Other symptoms include weight loss, a fever or temperature and coughing up blood.
These symptoms are usually related to whatever has caused the fluid to collect.
One is also likely to have a dry cough and pain in the chest on the side of the chest which has been affected.
Source: NHS
Music-lover Osvaldo earned his senior pro breakthrough with Huracan before moving to Italy with Atalanta in 2006.
He had spells with giants Roma, Juventus, Boca Juniors and Porto – and scored three in 13 games for Southampton in 2013-14.
The striker finished his club career with Banfield – who he played for at junior level – in 2020, four years after his previous run-out for Boca.
On the international stage, he earned 14 caps for Italy.
All four of his goals came in 2014 World Cup qualifying.
Osvaldo bravely opened up on his struggles with his mental health and drug and alcohol addictions in 2024.