Jesus de Miguel's cause of death revealed after fatal collision with goalkeeper

Jesus de Miguel died from "accidental chest trauma", according to the preliminary autopsy report. The 30-year-old Tenerife striker tragically passed away on Tuesday after being involved in a collision during a game against FC Andorra.

Tragedy struck on Monday evening in additional time of a LaLiga Hypermotion clash. Tenerife forward De Miguel was sprinting towards the ball in the 97th minute when Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono came rushing out of his area and attempted to clear, but struck his opponent heavily in the chest.

Owono was sent off and De Miguel was treated on the field but soon went into cardiac arrest. He was taken via ambulance to Hospital Universitario de Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria and although he was initially stabilised, he died at 8am on Tuesday morning. The game was abandoned and the Royal Spanish Football Federation suspended all matches until Friday.

Tributes and condolences have poured in across Spanish football in the wake of his passing, as judicial and police authorities conduct a routine inquiry into the incident. The cause of De Miguel's death has now been confirmed via a post-mortem.

According to local sources Canarias7 and El Dia, the Institute of Forensic Medicine has found that De Miguel died from "accidental thoracic trauma."

Make sure you don't miss sport's biggest stories and breaking news by making the Daily Mirror one of your Google preferred sources.

"Thoracic trauma" has emerged as a "cause consistent with the death" of De Miguel, though results from further tests conducted, such as toxicology reports, are still pending.

The preliminary forensic report was submitted on Wednesday morning to Magistrate Eva Esther Juarez Fernandez, who is presiding over the investigative division court overseeing the investigation into De Miguel's passing.

The Tenerife first team, coaching staff and club management will attend De Miguel's funeral, which will take place in Navahermosa, a village in the province of Toledo, Spain, today (Thursday).

Owono broke his silence on the incident on Wednesday and admitted that these have been the most difficult days of his life. In a statement, FC Andorra said: "FC Andorra continues to be deeply affected by the death of Jesus de Miguel. In these very difficult moments, our player Jesus Owono wishes to personally share a few words."

"These are the most difficult days of my life. I am struggling to find the words and find it very difficult to assimilate anything that has happened," Owono said.

"I feel an enormous pain for the loss of Jesus. I think of him, his family and everyone who loved him. I know there will be many issues to address; I will face whatever comes with the utmost respect. But right now, honestly, I cannot think of anything else except Jesus and the pain we are experiencing. Rest in peace, Jesus."

Any death "not resulting from natural causes" automatically triggers a judicial investigation and homicide officers in Tenerife have launched a probe. This will also take into account the medical response to the situation. Santa Cruz de Tenerife chief prosecutor Jose Luis Sanchez-Jauregui said that criminal proceedings against Owono are, however, "very unlikely."

Owono was left out of the Equatorial Guinea squad ahead of the upcoming international break and it is expected this afternoon that the RFEF Disciplinary Committee will decide on the length of the footballing punishment he will face. A previous official report indicates that this could be between a four- and 12-game ban.

Elsewhere, a club partly owned by Cristiano Ronaldo, UD Almeria, has announced that they will donate money to De Miguel's family. Almeria play Tenerife at home later this season and their president, Mohammed Al Khereiji, has decided to allocate all ticket revenue from the match to support the player's family. De Miguel left behind his partner Maria and their one-year-old daughter, Carla.

Both Maria and Carla were tragically at the stadium for Monday's game and a family friend, Fernando Roman, gave an interview with Spanish outlet Vamos a Ver and opened up about how De Miguel's girlfriend was left alone in the hospital following his passing.