After a shaky start to the season following their victories in the Brasileirão and Copa Libertadores, it seems that Botafogo is starting to find some consistency with their recent victories over Juventude (2-0) and Carabobo (2-0). Both matches took place at the Nilton Santos stadium, where terror struck last night due to a chilling collision during the second match of the Libertadores against Carabobo.

Brutal collision between Neira and Mastriani

With the score still tied, the 57th minute of the match saw Ezequiel Neira, the Argentine defender from Carabobo, suffer a concussion after a severe head-on collision with Gonzalo Mastriani, the Uruguayan forward from Botafogo, who was chosen by Renato Paiva to replace Igor Jesús due to his absence.

The incident occurred during an attack down the left wing for Botafogo, as Mastriani entered the box to finish off a cross from Alex Telles. However, Ezequiel Neira read the play well and managed to anticipate the ball clearance… but unfortunately, Mastriani collided with his head. The impact was so strong that both players immediately collapsed onto the pitch.

Neira left the field in an ambulance

The referee quickly stopped the match so medical staff could attend to both players as quickly as possible. Mastriani, who caused the impact, was able to recover and return to the game after being examined by the doctors. However, Neira had it worse and had to leave the field in an ambulance. As of now, Carabobo has not released a statement regarding the physical condition of the Argentine defender.

The match was paused for several minutes until it was resumed after Neira was evacuated from the field. However, the incident caused fear among the Carabobo players, who couldn’t withstand Botafogo’s constant attacks in search of a victory, which came in the final minutes thanks to goals from Patrick de Paula and Matheus Martins.