Iker Casillas' heart attack didn't appear serious at first, says Porto boss Sergio Conceicao
Casillas' wife reveals he is 'calm and well' and hopes he can return home early next week
Friday 3 May 2019 18:28, UK
Porto head coach Sergio Conceicao has admitted he initially did not think Iker Casillas' heart attack was serious.
Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas, who turns 38 later this month, suffered an acute myocardial infarction during training with Porto on Wednesday morning.
The training session was suspended with the player rushed to the Hospital CUF in the city, where he is expected to make a full recovery.
However, Conceicao admitted during his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's game against Aves that Casillas' symptoms initially appeared innocuous.
"I must confess I didn't think it was something serious at first," said Conceicao.
"We were training and Iker was doing another type of exercise, so we kept training for another 15 or 20 minutes.
"But when the doctor told me what had happened around 30 minutes later we were immediately apprehensive."
Casillas' wife Sara Carbonero hopes he can be allowed to return home after the weekend.
She told reporters outside the hospital on Friday: "He's well, calm, following the medical protocols that have been set. In principle, he has to stay a few more days in the hospital and the idea is that he will be discharged on Monday."
There are now major doubts that Casillas will ever play professionally again, but that is far from Conceicao's thoughts with the Porto squad set to visit him on Friday afternoon.
"Football is part of life, but life itself is much more important than anything else," added Conceicao.
"At this moment, the medical advice is to give Iker some tranquillity meaning he shouldn't be in a situation where his heart could beat faster.
"That's why we must be careful with every detail and we are following the medical instructions to understand what's better."
