Man Utd cult hero rushed to hospital after horror collision in veterans match

Diego Forlan, who spent three-and-a-half years at Manchester United, had to be rushed to hospital after suffering three broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung during an over-40s match

Manchester United cult hero Diego Forlan was rushed to hospital with three broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung after a nasty fall during an over-40s match in Uruguay. Forlan, 46, was playing for Old Boys against Old Christians on Saturday afternoon.

The ex-United striker reportedly fell awkwardly following an aerial collision with an opposition player. Forlan was visibly in pain on the turf and a video recorded from the sidelines shows several of his team-mates running over.

After being transported to a nearby hospital, doctors had to drain his lung because fluid had entered it. The incident 'gave everyone a scare', according to Uruguayan outlet El Observador, but he's now in a 'good condition' and has no qualms with his opponent.

Forlan, who'd scored two goals to help Old Boys win 4-1, reportedly sent a message to friends via WhatsApp from his hospital bed. "They're going to admit me and put a tube in to drain the blood," the former Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan and Villareal forward wrote.

"I'll be hospitalised until Tuesday. In 20 years as a professional, this has never happened to me before.

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"It wasn't his fault. The truth is, it wasn't his fault. He knocked me off balance and I was in the air, you see? And my hand stayed there… I couldn't get it out to support myself. I fell like a sack of potatoes."

Forlan announced his retirement from professional football in August 2019, having briefly played for Kitchee in the Hong Kong Premier League in which he scored seven goals in five games. But in a surprise career change, the 46-year-old is now a professional tennis player, making his ATP debut at the 2024 Uruguay Open.

"I need something where I can run," Forlan explained in an interview with the Athletic. "Golf, you play in beautiful places – I like it and I still do it, but I need something different, something more similar to football.

"I started training and playing tennis and I was getting better and better. At first, I would play the top players at the club and players from around Uruguay and it was easy for them to beat me.

"Then it became more difficult. Now I can win. At the club tournaments, I was losing in the first round, now I'm winning a lot of them."

Forlan spent three-and-a-half years at United, with Sir Alex Ferguson having signed him from Atletico Independiente for £6.9million in January 2002. The Uruguayan scored 17 goals across 98 appearances at Old Trafford before being sold to Villarreal in a £2m deal.

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