The health problems of the 80-year-old coach of the Romanian national football team, Mircea Lucescu, are more serious than they first seemed. Earlier this week, he was urgently admitted to the University Hospital in Bucharest, where he is under 24-hour medical supervision.
Due to his condition, the Romanian Football Federation may be forced to seek a replacement for a crucial knockout stage match in March.
Romania plays Turkey in the semi-finals of the World Cup qualifying round. The winner will play the winner of the match between Slovakia and Kosovo in the final.
The Romanians will be pursuing their first World Cup qualification since 1998, when they were eliminated in the round of 16 by Croatia.
“Given the information that has appeared in the media in recent days, and especially today, the Romanian Football Federation would like to clarify some things. The coach of the Romanian national team, Mr. Mircea Lucescu, has been hospitalized for medical observation and is receiving antibiotic therapy for a subcutaneous infection. His recovery is progressing well.”
“The Romanian Football Federation and Mircea Lucescu thank everyone for their interest and messages of support and ask for respect for the right to privacy,” a statement published on the federation’s website said.
Mircea Lucescu has spoken his mind in this statement, telling Romanian fans to remain calm.
“I’m fine, there’s no reason to worry. Please stay calm, there were a lot of exaggerations. It’s just a therapy that I have to do under supervision,” he declared.
Doctors skeptical about his appearance in March
Despite the reassuring tone of the official statement, medical sources confirmed to GSP.ro that the Romanian coach’s condition is serious.
This is not a complication of the cold, which caused his discharge from the hospital last week, but a complex, chronic and long-term illness.
“Mircea Lucescu’s condition is serious, he is under constant supervision,” medical sources told Romanian media.
This is Lucescu’s third hospitalization in the past month. On Monday, he was again urgently admitted to the University Hospital of Bucharest, this time to the cardiology department, where he is being cared for by one of Romania’s top cardiologists, Dr. Cristian Udroiu.
Although he is in stable condition and is following the players’ matches for upcoming matches from his hospital room via laptop and tablet, doctors are skeptical that he will be able to fully recover in less than two months to lead the national team from the bench in Istanbul. /Telegraph