Boca Juniors has announced that the club’s head coach Miguel Ángel Russo is currently receiving home care with a "reserved prognosis," amid speculation about his health and following his absence from the touchline in recent matches.
Russo "is currently undergoing home-based treatment with a reserved prognosis," the club wrote on its official X account.
"We stand by Miguel and his family at this time," the statement added.
The 69-year-old coach was replaced on the bench by Claudio Úbeda and Juvenal Rodríguez, who managed the team in Boca’s 5-0 thrashing of Newell’s on Sunday in the Torneo Clausura.
"We want to dedicate the victory to Miguel, who surely was watching us on TV," Úbeda told journalists after the match.
Team captain Leandro Paredes echoed the sentiment: "We dedicate the win to Russo – he’s the leader of our group, and it’s tough knowing he’s going through this. We’re sending him a lot of strength."
In his recent public appearances – interspersed with hospital or home admissions – Russo was seen looking frail, walking with difficulty and speaking in a weak voice.
Boca had not released any official statements about his condition until Monday, although it is known that Russo was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2017.
Concerns over Russo's health began to grow after he was hospitalised three times within the span of a month.
At the end of September, sources close to the club said that the coach had been admitted to hospital and was undergoing a series of medical tests. He was expected to return to training shortly afterwards.
However, the coach who led Boca to their most recent Copa Libertadores title in 2007 has not returned to the bench since.
Russo, affectionately known as "Miguelito," took charge of the team for the third time in June amid a noticeable decline in his physical condition.
One of the first worrying images emerged at the end of August, during Boca’s victory over Aldosivi in Mar del Plata, when Russo appeared lethargic and drowsy on the bench.
He later returned to the dugout for the match against Rosario Central, where he was warmly received by the home crowd – who regard him as something of a legend – and then went on to manage the team against Central Córdoba at La Bombonera on September 21
Russo had previously shown similar resilience in December 2017, when he won the Colombian league title with Millonarios just a day after receiving a chemotherapy session in Bogotá.
"There were plenty of people talking nonsense – in one ear and out the other," Russo said last month. "When it comes to your health, only you really know. If I’m working, it’s because I’ve got the all-clear – from the doctors and from my family as well."
– TIMES/AFP
Comments