Daniel Maldini, the son of Italian football legend Paolo Maldini, was taken to hospital on Sunday morning after being involved in a car accident, just hours after playing in a Serie A match.
The 24-year-old had started for Cagliari against Atalanta Bergamo and scored the decisive penalty just after the hour mark to hand his side the win.
The midfielder was involved in a collision with another vehicle at around 5:15am while driving his Porsche Carrera. Six people were reportedly injured in the crash, five of whom were taken to hospital, including Maldini, who was reportedly examined at the Fatebenefratelli hospital in Milan. The sixth person was treated at the scene.
License suspended
A breathalyzer test showed that Maldini's blood alcohol level was above the legal limit, and the Cagliari player had his driving license suspended as a result.
Maldini, who has earned six caps for Italy's national team, known as the Squadra Azzurra, was also given a drug test. Italian police said the results would not be available for three or four days.
Released from hospital
Despite the accident, Maldini was discharged from hospital the same day. In a statement sent to the AGI news agency, his lawyer, Danilo Buongiorno, said Daniel was doing well and had not suffered any kind of injury, let alone a serious one, as had been mistakenly reported.
Buongiorno said that after a brief examination in the emergency room, Daniel had been immediately allowed to leave, and that he had returned home and was in good health.
Background
Paolo Maldini spent his entire playing career at AC Milan, where he won multiple Serie A titles and Champions League trophies and is regarded as one of the greatest defenders in the history of the game. He also won more than 100 caps for Italy. Daniel Maldini has followed his father into professional football, coming through Milan's youth academy before moving on to Cagliari, a Serie A club based in Sardinia.
