COVID-19: French footballer, Sambia, placed on artificial coma

French Ligue 1 star who plies his trade with Montpellier, Junior Sambia, has been placed in an 'artificial coma' after testing positive for coronavirus.

Sambia's agent, Frederic Guerra, said that the 23-year-old midfielder who strictly respected confinement must have contracted the virus while shopping.

The symptoms worsened after changing hospital and being in intensive care, doctors decided to put him in a coma, his agent revealed.

Guerra told Le Parisien: "His condition is stable this Friday. It has not deteriorated, nor improved.

"It is tough. He really respected confinement. He did everything well. He must have contracted the virus while shopping.

"He suffered three days of severe diarrhoea - like gastroenteritis. Then, on Tuesday morning, he went to the hospital.

"I reached him when he was on an IV. He had just received the Covid-19 test result. This one was negative. He was due to leave on Wednesday, then his condition worsened with his lungs.

"It grew more complicated in transit. He went back to the same hospital, then he changed hospitals twice before being placed in an artificial coma."

The Sun reports that Sambia was the first Ligue 1 footballer to be confirmed with the virus.