UPDATE: Berterame conscious in hospital after suffering head injury

Hoyos tells reporters Berterame is 'OK' after aerial collision

Inter Miami interim coach Guillermo Hoyos said after last night's 1-0 win at Montréal that striker Germán Berterame was conscious and undergoing tests at an area hospital after a suffering a head injury on a corner kick.

"The most important thing is that he’s OK, and right now he is OK," Hoyos said.

The Herons and L'Impact match was scoreless when Berterame, 27, an Argentine-born Mexican citizen, leaped into the air to challenge for a header on a Miami corner kick. Montréal defenders Daniel Pereira and Efrain Morales also went for the ball, and Morales' elbow struck Berterame in the head. Berterame fell to the ground unconscious. Players from both teams called for medical help; after about 10 minutes of treatment on the field, medics placed an apparently non-responsive Berterame on a stretcher and transported him to the hospital by ambulance.

“He’s recovering right now, he’s fine, conscious,” Hoyos told reporters after the game, according to The Athletic. “His family is aware of everything. They’re calm. The most important thing is that he’s OK, and right now he is OK.

"It was a moment of great desperation and deep sadness."
Guillermo Hoyos

Saputo Stadium was quiet as medics treated Berterame. Players from both teams looked on anxiously, gathered in small groups near the unconscious player. The incident rattled Herons staff, Hoyos said.

“We were alarmed at first because the blow was very strong. On the play, it’s obvious there was an elbow, which is why a penalty was awarded, he fell like dead weight.

“I think he might have already been unconscious given the severity of the impact. He took that elbow and hit the ground hard. It was a moment of great desperation and deep sadness, because it went beyond football, and all that. It’s about human life, that’s what matters most. So, we just hope everything turns out well.”

The referee called a foul on Morales for the contact, resulting in a penalty kick that Luis Suárez converted for the match's only goal. Inter Miami now has won six straight matches, and Suárez has scored six goals in the last three games.

Inter Miami again played without several key players, including Lionel Messi and Ronado De Paul who are recovering after playing for runners-up Argentina in the World Cup. Brazilian midfielder Casemiro made his first appearance for Las Garzas and played 104 minutes despite not having trained with the team, and Rocco Ríos Novo kept a clean sheet in his second straight start in goal.

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