The Sporting Lokeren defender Gregory Mertens remains in hospital after collapsing during the early stages of a reserve-team match against Genk on Monday night.
The 24-year-old lost consciousness in the first half and was initially attended to by both the Lokeren and the Genk medical staff before he was transported to a Genk hospital, where he stayed overnight.
A statement on his club’s website read: “During the reserves match between KRC Genk and KSC Lokeren, Gregory Mertens collapsed after 15 minutes. Our defender was immediately assisted by the medical teams of Sporting Lokeren and KRC Genk. He was transferred to the hospital in Genk.”
Reports suggest a heart attack could have been the cause of Mertens’ collapse. He remains in hospital and his condition is being assessed.
#Pray #faith #GregoryMertens @SportingLokeren pic.twitter.com/M1BGEJCviR
— Marcelo Robalinho (@m_robalinho) April 27, 2015
The Lokeren spokesman Herman Van de Putte told sporza.be: “His condition is very critical. Gregory is in a medically induced coma, his heart function has been taken over by a machine. The fate of Gregory is in the hands of the hospital. We hope for a miracle.”
The club added on their Twitter account: “Sporting sympathises with family and friends of Gregory and hopes for a positive outcome.”
The Chelsea and Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku and Wolfsburg’s Kevin De Bruyne were among those to tweet their support for Mertens, who began his senior career at Cercle Brugge in 2011 before he made the move to Lokeren in January last year.
The Belgian defender made his debut as a late substitute in a 3-0 victory over his former club on 18 January 2014 and has made 30 further appearances for the first team, including three Europa League outings earlier this season.
Blijven vechten Gregory! #bestrong 💪🏼
— Thibaut Courtois (@thibautcourtois) April 27, 2015
Ongelooflijk slecht nieuws. Blijven vechten Gregory
— Kevin De Bruyne (@DeBruyneKev) April 27, 2015
