Emanuel Mammana underwent emergency surgery at the Sanatorio de la Mujer in Rosario after suffering a severe back injury during Vélez Sarsfield’s 1–1 draw against Newell’s Old Boys, according to multiple reports. The defender sustained fractures to seven ribs and a traumatic pneumothorax following a collision with goalkeeper Tomás Marchiori.
The Collision at the Marcelo Bielsa Stadium
Newell’s launched a dangerous free kick into the penalty area, prompting Vélez goalkeeper Tomás Marchiori to charge off his line to punch the ball clear. While Marchiori successfully cleared the danger, his knee struck Mammana directly in the back.
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Play was halted for approximately five minutes as paramedics treated the player on the pitch before rolling him off on a stretcher. He was transferred directly from the stadium to a hospital in Rosario for urgent diagnostic imaging.
Surgical Intervention and Pneumothorax Diagnosis
Medical examinations revealed extensive trauma to the player’s thoracic cage. According to statements given by Vélez Sarsfield president Fabián Berlanga to D-Sports and reported by Doble Amarilla, Mammana suffered five cracked ribs and one displaced rib that punctured his lung, creating an air pocket between the chest wall and the lung tissue.
“By chance he was already operated on at the Sanatorium in Rosario,” Berlanga said, as reported by Doble Amarilla. “A pneumothorax had to be performed as an emergency because he has five cracked ribs and one with a small displacement that, from what they say, touched the lung and generated an air bubble between the intercostal rib cage and the lung.”
Surgeons inserted a drainage tube to remove the trapped air from the pleural cavity. Following the operation, hospital staff transferred Mammana to the intensive care unit as a precautionary measure, where he remained sedated and stable under the supervision of the club’s medical staff.
Next Steps and Potential Transfer to Buenos Aires
Club officials plan to evaluate the defender’s recovery before authorizing a medical transfer back to the capital. Berlanga noted that the player’s wife and representative traveled to Rosario to join him at the hospital.
“We will see tomorrow how he wakes up and if there is the possibility of making a transfer to Buenos Aires to later continue with the recovery of the bone part,” Berlanga said, according to Doble Amarilla coverage. If clinical indicators remain favorable, transport arrangements will be finalized to move Mammana to a medical facility in Buenos Aires for continued post-operative monitoring.
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