Peru’s Jefferson Farfan Suffers Traumatic Brain Injury During World Cup Training
Peru’s Jefferson Farfan was involved in a horrific accident during training for the World Cup; the accident left the soccer player temporarily paralyzed after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and his teammates fearing for his life. Reportedly, the player could not move his arms or legs and his eyes went white after the incident. The injury was a result of a collision with a goalkeeper in a training session leading up to the team’s final soccer game of the tournament.
Since being rushed to hospital, 33-year old Jefferson has recovered to the point that he could be released from the hospital but he tweeted that he would not be able to play in Peru’s Group C finale against Australia in Sochi. The player expressed his desire to play with his teammates in that final game but noted that it was impossible; a reference to FIFA’s official concussion protocols that require players who suffer TBI to spend 72 hours under observation.