Real Madrid player denies 'heart problem' has forced him into early retirement

Real Madrid midfielder Lucas Silva has denied he will retire from football after a heart problem was discovered during his medical ahead of a collapsed loan move to Sporting Lisbon.

The 23-year-old was set to join the Portuguese club on a season-long loan, but the move fell through after they discovred an abnormal heart rhythm during his medical examination.

Reports the player had retired emerged after the Brazilian edited his Instagram bio, which reads: "I fought the good fight, I've finished my career, I've kept my faith."

However, Silva has taken to Twitter denying the speculation, labelling the reports as 'untruthful'.

"On Friday, when performing medical exams to sign with Sporting Clube de Portugal, I did a stress test, which detected a change in heart rhythm," he wrote.

"Then and even today I did various examinations that did not find any abnormality in my heart. Apparently it was a single alteration and without specific cause.

"For safety it was decided it would be better to not transfer me right now.

"Obviously Real Madrid may want to repeat the tests, but I'm very sure of the absolute normality of the additional tests.

"In the face of untruthful news conveyed in the media, I decided to report, officially and categorically, I will not retire."