Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell died of heart failure, according to a post-mortem examination.
The 35-year-old collapsed while being substituted towards the end of Motherwell’s 5-3 Scottish Premier League win against Dundee United on Saturday and later died in hospital.
Robert Liddle, Motherwell’s club doctor, said on Tuesday: ”The post-mortem revealed that Phil had suffered left ventricular failure of the heart.”
O’Donnell’s funeral will take place at St Mary’s Church in the western Scottish town of Hamilton, near Motherwell, on Friday.
His death caused widespread grief within Scottish football and beyond and O’Donnell’s wife Eileen, speaking on Tuesday for the first time since her husband’s passing, said she’d been ”overwhelmed” by messages of support.
Eileen, the mother of the couple’s four children, who on Monday visited a makeshift shrine of scarves and photographs at Motherwell’s Fir Park ground, said: ”Although he achieved so much in football the most important thing for him was his family.
”He would like to be remembered as a family man and we were all so proud of him,” she added.
”We are all devastated by what has happened.
”We hope we will now be given peace and time to grieve but we are overwhelmed by the messages of support we have received.”
Three of Wednesday’s scheduled Scottish Premier League matches, including the Old Firm derby between Celtic — one of his former teams — and Rangers, as well as Celtic’s game at Motherwell on Sunday, have been postponed in tribute to O’Donnell.
The midfielder was set to be replaced on Saturday but fell to the ground as the change was taking place.
O’Donnell received five minutes of treatment on the field before being carried off on a stretcher and was subsequently taken by ambulance to hospital.
His nephew, David Clarkson, who scored twice in the match, was substituted after being alarmed at the sight of his uncle’s collapse. — Sapa-AFP