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Wolves' Ruben Neves donates equipment worth almost £30k to hospital

Wolves star Ruben Neves has donated almost £30,000 worth of medical equipment to a Portuguese hospital to help the fight against coronavirus.

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Ruben Neves (AMA)

The 23-year-old midfielder has paid for two ventilators for those in intensive care at Sao Sebastiao Hospital.

The hospital is in Santa Maria da Feira, the city where Neves and his family are from.

He said he was happy to help in the battle against the pandemic, with the equipment costing £29,000, and added: "It is a duty to help the region where I am born and where I have family and friends.

"This is a moment of public health emergency that no one can remain indifferent to."

Neves is said to have made the donation off his own bat after contacting the hospital directly and asking how he could help.

Miguel Paiva, chairman of the health group which runs the Sao Sebastiao Hospital, said: "He contacted the hospital directly, asking how best to help us and this type of attitude – which, fortunately, has multiplied these days – gives us a lot of strength and encourages us to do our best for the inhabitants of the region.

"The new ventilators will help us a lot, allowing us to treat more patients who need the support of mechanical ventilation, which is increasingly necessary as the numbers of infected people, in general, and the severely ill, in particular, increase."

Wolves' owners Fosun also flew in 12 tons of medical supplies to Lisbon earlier this week as part of the firm's Global Covid-19 Relief Programme.