Former Everton winger Christian Atsu is recovering in hospital after being rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building following an earthquake in Turkiye.
The Ghanaian international was pulled from the rubble in the city of Antakya, where he now plays for Hatayspor having joined in September 2022 after a year playing in Saudi Arabia.
Indeed, Atsu, who was making just his third appearance for his new club, scored a 97th-minute winner on Sunday to give his side a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa before the earthquake struck.
Thankfully, the 31-year-old has been found safe and well and is recovering in hospital, as confirmed by Everton’s official twitter account, who wrote, “We are relieved to hear @ChristianAtsu20 has been found and is recovering in hospital.
Our thoughts continue to be with everyone affected by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.”
The former Chelsea and Newcastle United attacker spent the 2014/15 season on loan at Goodison Park, making 13 appearences in all competitions, featuring on 7 occasions in the Europa League.
Securing 2 assists during his time at the Blues, Atsu struggled to nail down a first-team place whilst on loan from Chelsea after suffering a hamstring injury midway through the season.
Following the recovery of the winger, the Ghana Football Association tweeted, “We’ve received some positive news that Christian Atsu has been successfully rescued from the rubble of the collapsed building and is receiving treatment. Let’s continue to pray for Christian.”
Atsu has been capped on 60 occasions by his country and scored 10 goals, with his last appearences occurring in September 2019.
Tragically, more than 5,000 people have been killed after earthquakes hit south-eastern Turkiye and northern Syria during the early hours of Monday morning, but hopefully there will be positive news regarding those currently unaccounted for as search and rescue efforts continue apace.
We wish Christian Atsu and all affected, a speedy recovery.