Swansea City's Bafetimbi Gomis challenges Sunderland's John O'Shea during their English Premier League soccer match at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea, Wales, February 7, 2015. [Photo/Agencies] |
LONDON - Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis collapsed during an English Premier League game at Tottenham on Wednesday and was taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure.
The France striker was attended to by medical staff for about four minutes and was wearing an oxygen mask as he was carried off the pitch on a stretcher.
"I wanted to reassure you concerning my health," Gomis said hours later in quotes published on Swansea's website. "It actually looks much scarier than it is physically dangerous, and I am feeling well now."
Gomis said he had been under stress and suffering from fatigue because of the health of his father, which required him to go back and forth to France for visits.
"He is fine," Swansea manager Garry Monk said of Gomis. "Coming off the pitch he was fine, talking and he actually wanted to stay on the pitch.
Gomis, who went to ground as the players made their way to restart after Nacer Chadli gave Spurs a seventh-minute lead, has a history of losing consciousness during games.
"It's something that we're well aware of and it's part of his history, but obviously he's had all the checks," Monk said. "We knew about this when he came to the club. He's had all the medical checks that you can possibly do and it's just part of his life. It's to do with low blood pressure."
Monk is not sure whether Gomis, who joined last year from Lyon, lost consciousness in the incident which stems from a long-standing condition.
"We'll clarify now with the club doctor and see what we do from here, see whether we pick him up or he gets his own car back," Monk said.
In the opening match of the 2010-2011 campaign in the French league, Gomis was playing for Lyon when he collapsed with 15 minutes remaining during a 0-0 home draw with Monaco, and was replaced by midfielder Kim Kallstron.
Gomis also had a blackout while training with the France team in 2008.
"I was disappointed that I couldn't help my team tonight," Gomis said, "but now everything is back in order."
White Hart Lane was the ground where Fabrice Muamba, playing for Bolton at the time, suffered a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup quarterfinal match against Tottenham in 2012. Muamba's heart stopped beating on its own for 78 minutes, but started again after arriving at a hospital.