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South African football legend Teko Modise thought Orlando Pirates defender Paseka Mako’s terrible injury against Baroka FC brought back memories of Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen suffering a heart attack while playing.
The incident occurred right near the end of the match – following a long clearance from the Baroka defence, Mako went chasing back to try and claim the ball near the halfway line.
At the same time, Ofori had come charging off his line to make the interception, and with both players’ eyes on the ball, they failed to see each other coming and collided in a sickening fashion.
Ofori recovered, but it appeared to have been his knee that struck the diminutive Mako’s head.
Former Kaizer Chiefs midfielder Siyabonga Nkosi, commenting afterwards in the SuperSport studio, felt that not much could have been done to prevent the collision.
“It’s just an unfortunate incident. I don’t find any way it could have been avoided. It’s two players who were committed to the cause,” said the former Bafana Bafana man.
“No one wanted to pull out obviously because we see it in most cases, a bit of hesitancy results in a blunder.
“It just so happened that there was very limited chance to try avoid the accident and I’m just praying he is okay.”
While playing for Denmark against Finland in the European Championships last year, midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed after suffering cardiac arrest.
Ex-Pirates midfielder Modise believes this was foremost in the Pirates and Baroka players’ minds as they formed a protective huddle around Mako while he received treatment.
“You can also see the effect it had on the players themselves,” Modise said in the SuperSport TV studio.
“You can see how they reacted because I think the Eriksen story is still fresh in everybody’s minds. So they’ll think of the worst and want to see if the player is okay.”
After a lengthy wait to stabilize Mako, he was taken to the hospital. It later emerged that he had regained consciousness.
