Reminiscence of the 1997 episode of African football legend and Nigeria’s Nwankwo Kanu, Cameroon’s player, Joel Tagueu, will most likely opt for surgery to correct his defective heart detected after medical examinations in Qatar and Egypt.
He has had to leave the Cameroon Camp at the Africa Cup of Nations and head for Brazil to meet his club officials, Cruzeiro.
According to information gathered by THISDAY Tagueu’s case can be corrected surgically.
A decision on surgery for the 25-year old player will be made by Cameroon football officials and that of his Brazilian club.
Meanwhile, Cameroon has made a request to CAF to call in a replacement.
Tagueu has however expressed sadness with the news of his health and more especially now that he must give up his place in the team as the Indomitable Lions fight to retain their Africa Cup of Nations title.
Reducing the risk of the unfortunate event of sudden death in the field is one of the main reasons for Tageu’s withdrawal.
Cameroon had already experienced a dark episode exactly 16 years ago in 2003 during the FIFA Confederation Cup in France with the death of Marc-Vivien Foe and are thus not ready to take any risks at the moment.
Tagueu hit the net eight times in 30 league appearances of which 24 starts were for his club CS Maritimo in the Portuguese Liga NOS this season.
Cameroon team doctor William Ngatchou detected an anomaly of an implantation of a coronary artery during their final preparation in Qatar and confirmed it in Egypt. n
Cameron has launched an appeal to CAF for his eventual replacement.
