Former Premier League star Dani Osvaldo has been admitted to intensive care after undergoing emergency surgery in Argentina to remove part of his lung, according to The Sun.

According to TyC Sports, the former Southampton and Italy international striker was taken to a hospital in Buenos Aires.

Osvaldo, 40, recently began experiencing chest pain. It is understood that his condition worsened over the past week, and his sister and friends raised the alarm after noticing something was wrong.

After being admitted to the hospital on Thursday evening, doctors discovered Osvaldo had severe pleural effusion, an excessive accumulation of fluid between the pleura and the chest wall. Doctors determined immediate surgery was necessary, and a small amount of lung tissue was removed. Following the surgery, Osvaldo was transferred to the intensive care unit.

Osvaldo, who was born and raised in Argentina but represented Italy internationally, is currently under close observation in a public hospital. As of now, neither the hospital nor local Argentine media have released further information.

The NHS explains that pleural effusion is also known as "water on the lung." During normal breathing, the lungs move against the inside of the chest wall without sticking together. The lung surface has a thin membrane, similar to cling film, with only a small amount of fluid between this membrane and the chest wall, allowing for smooth gliding and lubrication.

Sometimes, fluid can build up in the space between the lung and the chest wall, which is called pleural effusion. There are many causes of pleural effusion, often related to lung or chest problems such as pneumonia, cancer, and trauma, and it can also be caused by problems elsewhere in the body.

The most common symptom is difficulty breathing, which worsens over time. Other symptoms include weight loss, fever, coughing up blood, dry cough, and chest pain on the affected side. These symptoms are usually related to the specific cause of the fluid accumulation.

A music enthusiast, Osvaldo first made his mark at Huracán before joining Atalanta in 2006 to play in Italy. He also played for Roma, Juventus, Boca Juniors, and Porto, and made 13 appearances for Southampton in the 2013-14 season, scoring 3 goals.

In 2020, the former striker ended his club career after playing for Banfield, where he had played in the youth ranks. This came four years after his last appearance for Boca Juniors.

At international level, Osvaldo made 14 appearances for Italy, scoring all four of his goals in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. In 2024, he openly discussed his mental health struggles and his past addiction to drugs and alcohol.

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