EURO 2024: HUNGARY’S BARNABAS VARGA IN STABLE CONDITION AFTER SERIOUS INJURY VERSUS SCOTLAND

• Forward is likely to undergo surgery after fracturing several bones in his face in a collision during his team's final group game

Hungary forward Barnabas Varga is in hospital in stable condition after a serious-looking injury in his team's final group match at the European Championship on Sunday.

Varga is likely to undergo surgery after fracturing several bones in his face. The 29-year-old also has concussion and will take no part in the rest of Euro 2024 should Hungary advance to the round of 16 as one of the four best third-place teams.

The Group A game against Scotland was halted for almost 10 minutes so Varga could get treatment after colliding with opposing goalkeeper Angus Gunn midway through the second half.

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Varga's teammates held up blankets to shield the player as he was tended to by medical staff, while everyone looked on in concern.

Both sets of fans applauded when Varga was stretchered off.

"Several bones in Barnabas Varga's face were broken during the collision during the match, and he also suffered a concussion," the Hungarian soccer federation wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the match.

"The Ferencvaros striker is most likely to undergo surgery. He spends the night in the hospital in Stuttgart. The whole team is rooting for him!"

Hungary snatched a 1-0 win, with a dramatic stoppage-time goal from substitute Kevin Csoboth.

"It was terrible. Was a terrible moment to see Barnabas like that," Hungary midfielder Roland Sallai said. "Of course, we were fighting for him in the remaining 15-20 minutes, and we would have liked to win for him and we were very happy we could achieve that. And yes, this we dedicate to him."

As Varga was getting treatment, no one in the stadium and watching on television had any real idea of what was happening and the extent of his injury - just that he was being treated by doctors, who had been frantically called onto the field by his teammates.

The scenes in Stuttgart had echoes of an even more serious incident at the last European Championship, when Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing in his team's opener against Finland.

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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.

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2024-06-24T10:21:12Z dg43tfdfdgfd