Barcelona’s LaLiga game with Celta Vigo had to be suspended on Tuesday after defender Ronald Araujo was taken to hospital by ambulance following a nasty clash of heads with Gavi.
The Catalan giants were leading 3-1 at the time when the club’s Uruguayan centre-back suffered a sickening clash of heads with his team-mate in the 62nd minute.
Araujo initially stayed on his feet, tracking back to defend before he suddenly dropped to the floor in a worrying incident for the player.
An ambulance was then required on the Nou Camp pitch to take the 23-year-old to a nearby hospital.
Reports in Spain confirmed shortly after the game that Araujo is now conscious with Barcelona confirming that he suffered a concussion and was taken to hospital to carry out addition tests.
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo suddenly collapsed following a clash of heads on Tuesday
Araujo (pictured) went up for a header with his own team-mate Gavi in the second half
The 23-year-old’s team-mates check on him as the club’s medical team rush to his aid
Araujo is put onto a stretcher and placed into an ambulance where he is then taken to hospital
Barcelona went on to win the game 3-1, putting Xavi Hernandez’s side on course to secure a spot in the lucrative Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia with a second-place finish in LaLiga.
With two games left and Real Madrid already crowned champions, Barcelona are second on 72 points.
They are seven points clear of third-placed Sevilla, who have one game in hand and will host relegation-threatened Mallorca on Wednesday.
An ambulance arrives on the Nou Camp pitch shortly after Araujo’s sickening clash of heads
Araujo’s Barcelona team-mates worryingly watch as the defender is put in an ambulance
Memphis Depay opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a first-touch strike following a brilliant individual effort by Ousmane Dembele in the right wing.
Aubameyang extended Barca’s lead 10 minutes later with a close-range strike from a rebound and scored again four minutes after the break, following another fine play by Dembele.
Iago Aspas scored Celta’s consolation goal one minute later, after Marc-Andre ter Stegen mishandled a pass inside his own box and gifted the ball to his rival, who had an empty net at his disposal.
