Ghanaian striker Raphael Dwamena joins Albanian side KF Egnatia
30th December 2022
Ghanaian striker Raphael Dwamena has signed for Albanian top-flight side KF Egnatia ahead of the start of the second round of the season.
The 27-year-old who has a documented heart condition has defied the odds to sign for his new club until the end of the 2022/2023 season.
The former FC Zurich striker joined fifth-tier Swiss club BSC Old Boys in August 2022 after departing Austrian side BW Linz after his heart condition flared up.
He signed a one-year contract with his new lower-tier side in an attempt to resuscitate a career troubled by heart issues but played only nine matches scoring seven goals before parting ways.
BW Linz terminated the contract of Raphael Dwamena due to recurring heart trouble that troubled his career in December 2021.
The 26-year-old striker collapsed whiles playing for his then Austrian side BW Linz in a cup game against TSV Hartberg on Tuesday 26th October 2021 and was quickly rushed to the hospital for treatment.
The game was abandoned after the incident when the player fell to the turf without any provocation whatsoever.
Despite recovering from the heart scare his club decided to terminate his contract on medical grounds as they feared the worst.
On 21 August 2017, FC Zürich agreed on a fee with Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion for the transfer of Dwamena.
He was set to join Brighton subject to passing a medical, obtaining a work permit, and international clearance, however, the deal fell through after Dwamena failed his medical due to a heart condition and he had a heart monitor fixed.
In the summer of 2018, he transferred to Spain to join Levante.
He left the Frogs to join Real Zaragoza on loan the following season but his deal with the club was truncated after suffering a heart scare.
In October 2019, after new examinations were carried out on his heart condition, the doctors recommended his immediate withdrawal and retirement from football.
He, however, continued after having implemented an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in January 2020
Dwamena returned to the field by signing for Danish second-tier side Vejle BK after undergoing several medical tests in Barcelona.
Vejle BK withdrew the Ghana striker Raphael Dwamena from team engagements due to a relapse in his heart condition. He left the club with two goals in five appearances to his credit.
But for the third time, Dwamena suffered another relapse when he collapsed on the pitch whiles playing for BW Linz.
The player was expected to reluctantly call time on his brief playing career after a series of heart scares but has resurrected it with his latest move.
He has been capped nine times by Ghana scoring twice.