ARGENTINA legend Ezequiel Lavezzi has been hospitalised for the second time in 18 days.
But the ex-Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli forward’s son has rubbished claims of a drug overdose in an angry social media post.
Instagram @tomilavezzi_Ezequiel Lavezzi is receiving treatment from medics, his son Tomas admitted[/caption]
The winger played 51 times for ArgentinaAP
However, Club Atletico Union footballer Tomas Lavezzi did admit his dad is “undergoing treatment”.
Lavezzi Jr, who posted a family photo earlier this week showing him by his dad’s side, said in an Instagram post: “My dad is fine and is undergoing treatment.
“Stop inventing things that are not true.
“He hasn’t had any overdose or anything they saying.”
Lavezzi Sr was taken to hospital in Uruguay on December 20 with an apparent abdominal wound and shoulder injury.
And now Argentine media are claiming the 51-cap Argentina international has been admitted into an intensive care unit.
The private clinic Lavezzi, 38, is receiving treatment in has been identified locally as the Zabala Clinic in the upmarket Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Belgrano.
Hospital chiefs have not confirmed he is a patient but, according to respected Argentinian daily newspaper La Nacion, have not denied the former footballer is there.
Leading Argentinian news website Todo Noticias is claiming he will be transferred to a specialist addiction rehab centre imminently.
The latest reports focusing on the health of Lavezzi, who retired from football in 2019, follow a confusing incident last month in Uruguay where he owns a home.
He ended up being treated at a private clinic in the upmarket resort of Punta del Este.
Initial reports stated Lavezzi suffered a stab wound during a party but family sources insisted he was hurt after slipping off a ladder as he tried to change a light bulb.
Police spokeswoman Paola Hernandez told Argentinian media at the time: “He told officers he was at a party and when he went to bed he said he felt a pain and phoned for an ambulance and medical responders discovered he had fractured his shoulder blade.
“It is not known how he suffered his injury.”
A hospital manager went on to explain he had a collar bone injury which didn’t require surgery and other minor injuries.
Argentinian journalist Yanina Latorre subsequently claimed Lavezzi injured himself after suffering a drug-induced psychotic episode and described the two women he went to hospital with as his sister and girlfriend.
She made her astonishing claims on Argentine TV programme LAM.
Lavezzi started his football career at clubs in his homeland before making a name for himself at Napoli from 2007 to 2012.
In four seasons at PSG, he racked up 161 appearances and three Ligue 1 titles then finished his club career in China.
Lavezzi helped his country win Olympic gold at the 2008 Games in Beijing then lost the World Cup final in 2014 before also coming up short as a runner-up in the Copa America in 2015 and 2016.
EPAHe shone for Napoli and then enjoyed plenty of success with PSG[/caption]
Lavezzi retired from football in 2019Getty