National defender Juan Izquierdo has died after collapsing on the pitch during a Copa Libertadores match earlier this month with an irregular heartbeat. The 27 years old Uruguayan suffered a cardiac during national’s game against Sao Paulo on August 22. Izquierdo had been receiving treatment at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo and national initially described his condition as stable. However, his condition worsened in recent days.

Doctors at the hospital had said in a statement on Monday the Izquierdo was experiencing increased intracranial pressure. He had been on a ventilator since Sunday and under neurological critical Care since Monday.

His first and second division football leagues were postponed on the weekend due to concerns over Izquierdo health. Sao Paulo players wore a shirt in support of The Uruguayan footballer before the team’s 2-1 Brazilian League win against Vitoria on Sunday.

Players from both sides immediately called for medical assistance. Still unconscious, Izquierdo was taken off the pitch in an ambulance to the applause of the fans, before being treated at the intensive care unit of hospital Albert Einstein.

Izquierdo’s professional carrier began in 2018 at local club Cerro. He joined Penarol the following year, but didn’t get much playing time. The defender then moved to Monteviedo Wanderers. He was signed by national in 2022, played on match and then was transferred of the local Liverpool club. The defender was one of the Liverpool’s baest players in the campaign that led the team to a Uruguayan league title in 2023, the club’s first in more than a century.

Izquierdo returned to national this year and was vying for a position in the starting lineup with Veteran Coates, who played for Uruguay’s national team. He played 23 matches this year and scored one goal.

the Uruguayan club posted a statement on social media saying Izquierdo’s death is felt “in deep pain and impact in our hearts” and “all national is grief for his irreplaceable loss.”