Ex-Premier League star Christian Atsu has reportedly been discovered alive after suggestions he became 'trapped' after an earthquake in Turkey.
The 31-year-old, who played for both Chelsea and Newcastle, was caught up in the 7.7 magnitude earthquake on Monday, February 6, reports the Daily Mirror.
The Portuguese outlet A Bola report that Atsu has been rescued and transported to hospital after suffering injuries to his right foot and breathing difficulties.
His club Hatayspor is located in the Turkish city of the Hatay, which is said to be one of the worst affected regions.
It is also believed that the club's sporting director Taner Savut and an interpreter were also trapped following the earthquake.
Other players, like Onur Ergun and Burak Oksuz, were rescued following the incident.
Two other team-mates of Atsu, Ruben Ribeiro and Ze Luis, are also safe, while Kerim Alici managed to free himself from the rubble.
Atsu, who joined Chelsea in 2013 after leaving Porto, also had spells with Everton and Bournemouth before moving to Newcastle.
He had only just joined Hatayspor in the summer and scored his first goal for the club at the weekend, just hours before the disaster.
It has been reported that at least 2,619 people have lost their lives following the incident with over 12,000 more believed to be injured across Turkey and Syria. A massive aftershock with a magnitude of 7.5 hit the south of Turkey just hours after the original quake.
Other sports stars have also been affected by the earthquake, with Olympic champion wrestler Taha Akgul issuing a desperate plea for "urgent help" on his social media account.
Akgul, who won gold in the 2016 Olympics and a Bronze medal four years later, said on his Instagram story, Akgul wrote: "The building where 30-40 of our wrestlers stay in the wrestling club in Kahramanmaraş has also been demolished… Our athletes are under the rubble. We are waiting for urgent help. Help me, my God!"
Speaking at a press conference, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the earthquake was the country's "largest disaster" since another major earthquake back in 1939.
"Everyone is putting their heart and soul into efforts, although the winter season, cold weather and the earthquake happening during the night make things more difficult," Erdogan told reporters on Monday.
"We do not know how high the casualty numbers will go as efforts to lift the debris continue in several buildings in the earthquake zone. Today is a day for 85 million to be together as one heart."
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