"This always scares": triple cardiac headache at Barça basketball

Barcelona"We haven't had a season where the wind has blown in our favor," acknowledges Xavi Pascual. While trying to avoid a third consecutive year without a title, Barça faces the final stretch of the Liga Endesa with a handful of unforeseen adversities. The cardiac problems of some key players have been added to serious injuries like Nico Laprovittola's. The arrhythmias of Toko Shengelia, Tomás Satoransky, and Will Clyburn have set off alarms for the medical services of the blaugrana club, who are managing this situation with the utmost caution.

The latest affected is Clyburn, who will not be able to reappear until the play-offs for the title, and for now the club has not specified the extent of the Detroit forward's condition. "He has a health problem that has been medically reversible, but that requires pharmacological treatment and medical follow-up," says the statement. "I just want to clarify a few things, as a lot can be lost in translation. To all of you who are writing to me, I want to say that I am well and healthy. To protect myself and the club, we are just following the guidelines that need to be followed during this situation. I can still continue with my life and basketball activities. I will take advantage of this time to do a reset and prepare myself to finish the season strong. I appreciate everyone who has contacted me," says Clyburn.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Clyburn's medical problem is similar to what Satoransky recently experienced, with arrhythmias that required him to undergo heart ablation. The Czech point guard, who is currently sidelined with lower back discomfort, also missed some games due to a severe indisposition in the match against Zalgiris. "I know that not much has been said about what happened to me... I've had some cardiac issues and that's always scary, because it's different from a muscle, knee, or ankle. I have a bit of a history, and we had to be cautious. Obviously, it wasn't comfortable to do this at this stage of the season, but some things are more important than basketball. I'm happy to have passed all the tests well," explains Satoransky.

The third player affected is Shengelia. Just when he was about to play the Eurobasket with the Georgian national team, the power forward suffered an arrhythmia due to exhaustion. "For me, the main question was whether I could play and if my heart was okay, and the Barça doctors told me everything was in order," summarizes the player, who went four days without being able to sleep normally. His heart problems have not affected his season as a Barça player.

Pascual, who wants to ensure that Barça puts together a solid team for next season, is managing the situation as best he can. "We have five injured players. It's been a season with many setbacks. We have to pick ourselves up. The team is united, and we want to fight until the end," acknowledges the coach of the Barça team, who will host Recoletas Salud San Pablo Burgos at the Palau Blaugrana on Saturday.

Worrying precedents

Víctor Tomàs, the great captain of Barça handball, retired six years ago due to a cardiac problem. The medical services warned that his situation could worsen if he continued to practice high-level sports: "I want to live a normal life with my family. If I keep asking my heart to keep up the pace, I could reach the point of not being able to live a normal life, like playing with my children or cycling," he said.

Footballer Kun Agüero also retired from professional football due to cardiac problems. "The first two weeks were tough, but when I had my first physical test at the hospital, the doctors called me to tell me there was a very big chance I wouldn't be able to continue playing," he explained.