Julio Enciso’s trip to Ecuador to link up with his Paraguay teammates took a worrying turn, the Brighton star has revealed.
The 20-year-old attacker has said in an interview that a bout of head pain left him fearing the worst.
“My head hurts. I almost died, I fainted on the plane,” he told Del Paraguay.
“I was powerless, I didn’t eat or sleep well. At one point I got up to go to the bathroom and I felt like I was falling.”
Thankfully, one good samaritan on board got Enciso the fluids and carbs he needed.
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“A guy grabbed me and took me to the front,” he said. “He made me drink coke and a Japanese soup and that did me good.”
Enciso will hope to be fully recovered in time for Thursday’s match against Ecuador, with Paraguay on only nine points from eight games in World Cup qualifying, leaving them at risk of missing out on the Americas tournament in 2026.
There are signs things could be changing, though, with a shock 1-0 win over Brazil last time out.
Paraguay are hoping to make their first World Cup since 2010, when a run of three straight tournaments came to an end.
Enciso will be key in achieving that goal, as a regular starter for his country despite his young age.
Things haven’t been quite the same at club level, with Enciso struggling for minutes after an injury-hit season in 2023/24.
This term he has made only two starts under new Seagulls manager Fabian Hurzeler, both in the League Cup.
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In his first campaign in 2022/23, Enciso made a name for himself as one of Brighton’s next big scouting successes as he scored four times in 26 Premier League matches, including the Goal of the Season winner against Manchester City.
The goal was also shortlisted for FIFA’s Puskas Award, and it secured European football for Brighton for the first time in club history.
Enciso moved to England from Paraguayan side Libertad in 2022 in a deal worth a reported £9.5million.
