(WATCH) Rising World Cup Star Collapses at Practice

Rising World Cup star Linda Caicedo, 18, clutched her chest and fell to the ground while training in Sydney, Australia.

The Colombian sensation lost consciousness for at least 90 seconds and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

According to reports, Caicedo was released from the hospital but likely won’t play in her country’s upcoming contest against Germany.

Concerned teammates gathered around Caicedo after her collapse, and training staff members sprinted to the scene.

Here’s the frightening footage:

Oof! It’s really happening daily now!

World Cup star Linda Caicedo, 18, grabs her chest and collapses at training in Sydney before being rushed to hospital in an ambulance after losing consciousness pic.twitter.com/QPZQwp5bXP

— aussie17 (@_aussie17) July 28, 2023

Daily Mail reports:

Caicedo regained consciousness as she was on a stretcher ready to be taken to hospital for treatment.

ADVERTISEMENT

A Colombian Football Association medical staff member later said Linda is ‘very tired’ but is ‘back to normal’.

‘What happened was just a symptom of all the stress and physical demands of a World Cup,’ the team official said.

Caicedo, who scored a memorable goal against South Korea at the Sydney Football Stadium earlier this week, is no stranger to adversity.

At the age of 15 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, with the disease threatening to destroy her football career.

She needed surgery to remove a tumour and underwent six months of chemotherapy before she returned to football.

‘At the time, I didn’t think I could play professionally again because of all the treatments and surgeries I had to go through,’ she told FIFA.

‘Mentally, it was a very difficult moment in my life. I’m forever grateful that it happened when I was very young. I was able to recover, I also had my family’s support, and I feel very good now.

‘What happened made me grow. I feel thankful and happy to be here.’

Caicedo, who also plays for Spanish giants Real Madrid, was convinced her budding professional career was over until she received an encouraging call from Colombian women’s team head coach, Nelson Abadía.

‘He said, ‘no, just relax … you’re going to come back’.’

ADVERTISEMENT

The teenager gave fans one of the most emotional moments of the World Cup so far when she scored a goal in her team’s win over South Korea on Tuesday.

Watch Caicedo’s goal against South Korea in the video below: