Maradona Says He’s Fine After Health Scare

Diego Maradona says he is fine after appearing to be taken ill during a group D match between Argentina and Nigeria.

Former football player and Argentinian idol Diego Maradona gestures prior the group D match between Argentina and Croatia at the FIFA World Cup 2018

(Photo: AP)

Argentina soccer great Diego Maradona said on Wednesday he was fine after appearing to be taken ill during the South Americans' roller-coaster World Cup win over Nigeria on Tuesday.

I want to tell everyone that I am fine, that I am not, neither was I, interned. In the halftime of the game against Nigeria, my neck hurt a lot and I suffered a decompensation. I was checked by a doctor and he recommended me to go home before the second half, but I wanted to stay because we were risking it all. How could I leave? I send a kiss to everyone, thanks for the support!

Maradona said in an <a href="mailto:&lt;blockquote class=&quot;instagram-media&quot; data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkgtn_ahCQo/&quot; data-instgrm-version=&quot;8&quot; style=&quot; background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);&quot;&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;padding:8px;&quot;&gt; &lt;div style=&quot; background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;&quot;&gt; &lt;div style=&quot; background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p style=&quot; margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;&quot;&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkgtn_ahCQo/&quot; style=&quot; color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Castellano | Italiano | Inglés Quiero contarles que estoy bien, que no estoy ni estuve internado. En el entretiempo del partido con Nigeria me dolía mucho la nuca y sufrí una descompensación. Me revisó un médico y me recomendó que me fuera a casa antes del segundo tiempo, pero yo quise quedarme porque nos estábamos jugando todo. ¿Cómo me iba a ir? Les mando un beso a todos, perdón por el susto y gracias por el aguante, hay Diego para rato! Voglio solo dirvi che sto bene, che non sono e non sono stato ricoverato. Durante l&amp;#39;intervallo della partita con la Nigeria ho avuto un forte dolore alla nuca e un mancamento. Un medico mi ha visitato e mi ha consigliato di tornare a casa prima del secondo tempo, ma ho deciso di rimanere perché ci stavamo giocando il tutto per tutto. Come sarei potuto andarmene? Un bacio a tutti e grazie per il supporto... Diego ci sarà ancora per un bel po&amp;#39;! I want to tell everyone that I am fine, that I am not, neither was I interned. In the halftime of the game against Nigeria, my neck hurt a lot and I suffered a decompensation. I was checked by a doctor and he recommended me to go home before the second half, but I wanted to stay because we were risking it all. How could I leave? I send a kiss to everyone, thanks for the support!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p style=&quot; color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;&quot;&gt;A post shared by &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/maradona/&quot; style=&quot; color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; Diego Maradona Oficial&lt;/a&gt; (@maradona) on &lt;time style=&quot; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;&quot; datetime=&quot;2018-06-27T02:20:48+00:00&quot;&gt;Jun 26, 2018 at 7:20pm PDT&lt;/time&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;script async defer src=&quot;//www.instagram.com/embed.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;">Instagram post</a>

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A video posted on Twitter after Tuesday's game showed Maradona needing help to walk as Argentina survived in the World Cup thanks to a late goal.

During the game, Maradona drew attention with his antics in the stands – enjoying adulation from fans, seemingly falling asleep at one point, and making an obscene gesture with both hands after Marcos Rojo's 86th minute winner secured Argentina's place in the last 16.

Maradona, now 57 and who led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup title, has battled cocaine addiction in the past. In 2015, he underwent a gastric bypass operation.

Argentina had a rough time battling their way through the group D stage but finally broke the deadlock against Nigeria on Tuesday to enter the round of 16.

Lionel Messi, who has been carrying the hopes of 44 million fans on his shoulder felt revived after his first goal in the FIFA World Cup 2018.

It was a Do or Die situation for the South Americans in order to sustain themselves in the World Cup race.

Now the struggle to move ahead and compete in this battlefield will intensify even more, when they take on France on Saturday at the Kazana Arena.

(With Inputs from Reuters)