NACIONAL defender Juan Izquierdo collapsed on the field during his team’s Copa Libertadores match against Sao Paulo in Brazil on Thursday.

The 27-year-old player suffered from a heart rhythm disorder in the 84th minute of the return leg in the round of 16.

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Doctors quickly arrived on the scene to treat the central defender and took him to hospital by ambulance.

Izquierdo’s teammates were at their wits’ end as they were visibly shaken by the incident.

Nacional has since confirmed that his condition is “stable” but that he is “still under observation”.

He is being monitored at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The full statement from the club reads: “Juan Izquierdo suffered an irregular heartbeat during the match against Sao Paulo.

“He is being treated in the Intensive Care Unit of the Albert Einstein Hospital.

“He is currently in stable condition and remains under observation.”

The message ended with the words of Nacional: “Stay strong, Juan!”

Nacional President Alejandro Balbi also issued a statement to El Pais from the hospital, saying: “He was immediately sedated and stabilized. A heart attack has been ruled out, but it is clearly a mild heart attack. He is under observation.

“The doctors say he is an athlete and young, so there is a good chance that everything will return to normal. But we have to wait and evaluate.

“He’s put under anesthesia and they have to wait until the effect wears off. Then they start all kinds of tests: neurological and cardiac, according to what the doctors told us.”

An arrhythmia is an abnormality of the heart rhythm.

Nacional, who drew with Sao Paulo in the first leg of the round of 16, were 2-0 down in the return when Izquierdo collapsed.

After the defender was taken away by medical staff, the match resumed and the score remained level.

Sao Paulo now play Botafogo in the quarter-finals in an attempt to win the Copa Libertadores for the first time in 19 years.