Real’s De la Red to stay in hospital overnight

Real Madrid’s Spain midfielder Ruben de la Red will remain in hospital overnight after passing out during his side’s 3-2 King’s Cup first leg defeat, the club said on Thursday.

“It appears that he fainted due to the physical effort he was putting in,” Real’s head of medical services Carlos Diez told reporters.

“He is going to stay in hospital overnight under observation and if there are no complications he will return to Madrid tomorrow. There, we will do more tests to determine the causes."

“All tests at present are normal and he is without any problems.”

In the 13th minute of their last-32 tie in Irun, De la Red was running back to towards the halfway line when, without anyone in close proximity, he suddenly fell face first on to the pitch and lay motionless.

Medical staff were quickly in attendance and the 23-year-old showed signs of movement as he was carried off on stretcher. He regained consciousness in the dressing room and was taken to a local hospital.