A Spanish football coach has died from coronavirus at the age of 21 having been suffering from a form of leukaemia.

Francisco Garcia, who was a youth team coach at Malaga-based club Atletico Portada Alta, had an unknown pre-existing health condition which made him more vulnerable to the virus than people of his age usually would be.

1 Garcia may be the youngest coronavirus fatality although this has not been confirmed

However, he was only informed of having cancer after going to the hospital with COVID-19 symptoms.

Spanish newspaper Malaga Hoy reports that Garcia was advised to seek further medical help after struggling to breathe and was diagnosed with both coronavirus and pneumonia.

Further tests showed that Garcia had leukaemia, which increased the risk of contracting coronavirus and led to his tragic death.

The report also suggests that Garcia would have survived the bout of coronavirus had he not been suffering from leukaemia.

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A statement from his club, Atletico Portada Alta, read: “We want to express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and close friends of our coach Francisco Garcia who has left us, unfortunately.

“Now what do we do without you, Francis?

“How are we going to continue conquering … in the league? We don’t know how, but we will surely do it for you.

“We will not forget you, rest in peace, phenomenon. Until forever.”

Club president Pep Bueno also paid tribute to Garcia, who had been training with Atletico Portada Alta for four years as well as being coach of the junior team.

Bueno said: “Francisco was a great guy and a very talented coach. We are all still shocked.

“The hospital rang me at 7pm on Sunday to say his condition had stabilised, but then an hour later because of the coronavirus and (cancer) … I do not believe it. It seems impossible to me.”

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Garcia is understood to be the youngest victim of the coronavirus outbreak, although that has not been confirmed.

The youngest person to die in Italy – Europe’s worst-hit nation – is a 38-year-old man.

In China, where the virus originated from, the youngest victim is a 36-year-old male.

Almost 300 people have died from the outbreak in Spain, where there are more than 8,000 positive cases.

There have bee over 1,500 confirmed cases in the UK although the actual figure is thought to be much higher. 35 people have died from the disease in the UK.