Former Super Eagles forward, Emmanuel Ebiede is hospitalised in Port Harcourt, Rivers State after being detected with Hepatitis B.
The retired footballer’s younger sister, Joy, confirmed the development to Punch on Wednesday morning, April 5, 2023, hours after photos of Ebiede with protruding stomach went viral on social media.
According to Joy, the 47-year-old former Flying Eagles star was rushed to the hospital by club members last Friday.
“He is in BMH hospital in Port Harcourt but can’t talk properly now. He’s been here (hospital) since Friday, I came in on Saturday from Bayelsa State to look after him,” Joy said, when our correspondent asked to speak with the retired footballer on phone,” she explained.
“His daughter called me that Daddy (Ebiede) was not feeling fine. So, I got here and saw his situation. It was his club members that rushed him to the hospital. Initially, it was malaria and typhoid, but his stomach got swollen.
“He underwent some tests to detect the cause of the swollen stomach. The test results diagnosed Hepatitis B. He’s not stooling freely, so I don’t know if that’s the cause of the swollen stomach.”
Joy, who said Ebiede had not worked lately, added that his medical bills had been taken care of by his benevolent club members.
“His club guys are always coming to the hospital to check on him and pay the bills.” She added.
Ebiede was one of the few bright spots of coach Fanny Amun’s Flying Eagles at the African championship on home soil in 1995.
He had two caps for the Super Eagles, making his debut under Serbian Bora Milutinovic in the 1-0 win over Iran in a pre-1998 World Cup friendly against Iran on January 28, 1998.
In 1997, he moved to SC Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie, before further spells in the United Arab Emirates (1999-2004) and Israel (2006-2008). He then returned home to feature for Bayelsa United and Sharks. He retired in 2011.
