Wasl coach Diego Maradona sustains minor injuries in traffic accident

The Argentine football legend was slightly hurt after colliding with a bus on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Al Wasl confirms in a statement.

BUENOS AIRES // Diego Maradona, the Argentine Al Wasl coach, was slightly hurt last night when the car he was driving collided with a bus on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, according to media and hospital sources.

The World Cup winner Maradona, 50, was driving near his home suburb of Ezeiza when the accident happened, a source said at Ezeiza hospital.

Maradona, whose arrival date in the UAE has not been set, has been in Argentina throughout the Copa America, which ends on July 24, as he looks to bring in two South American players to join the Dubai side for the new season.

Al Wasl later issued a statement confirming that Maradona had been involved in an accident after visiting his mother, Dalma Franco, in hospital.

The statement read: "He was released from the hospital later that day after routine check-ups were performed, only as a precautionary measure. He was found to be in full health and capable of going home.

"He will be flying back to the United Arab Emirates near the end of the month to begin pre-season training with the team.

"We would like to take this opportunity to wish Maradona’s mother, Mrs Dalma Franco, a speedy recovery from her illness and hope all the best for her and the entire family."

Argentine television said Maradona, who coached Argentina at last summer's World Cup finals and who earlier this year agreed to coach the Dubai side Al Wasl, was travelling with his partner, Veronica Ojeda, who was said to have suffered a bruised rib.

"It is nothing serious," said Maradona's doctor Alfredo Cahe, his prognosis swiftly confirmed by hospital director Oscar Sico.

"Maradona is fine, he suffered virtually no whiplash. They [he and Ojeda] were taken hospital as a precaution but have no problems. They can both go home."

Maradona's mother is on a ventilator in a Buenos Aires sanatorium after suffering from a virus in recent days.

She also has a history of heart problems, which necessitated a spell in hospital late last year.

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