MLS goalkeeper Nick Marsman hospitalized after being bitten by spider at zoo

Inter Miami goalkeeper Nick Marsman was hospitalized recently after suffering a spider bite at a local zoo. Marsman remained in the hospital for three days due to the bite, per TMZ Sports.

Marsman’s wife, Nathalie den Dekker, released the story earlier this week in a series of Instagram posts. Dekker, who was a former Miss Netherlands, blamed the humid Miami weather.

“The downside of living in a tropical climate is if you go to the zoo and get bitten by a poisonous spider… end up being hospitalized for three days,” Dekker wrote on Instagram.

Marsman has been used to the spotlight lately. Earlier this month, Lionel Messi signed with Inter Miami, breaking the internet. According to a report from Alex Silverman of Sports Business Journal, Messi will receive a compensation package from Inter Miami worth $50-60 million per year.

While Marsman doesn’t earn a remotely similar figure, he also provides excellence on the pitch. The Dutch goalkeeper joined the MLS squad midway through the 2021 season following two years with Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Eredivisie. Since then, Marsman has racked up 29 total appearances over two seasons at the Club, all of them starts.

Further, Marsman gave up just 12 goals in 2022 while recording a 62.5% saves percentage. Evidently, the 6-foot-2 goalkeeper is now out of the hospital and working on a recovery.

“Happy to have you back home, now get well soon,” Marsman’s wife wrote.

Marsman’s timetable for return is unclear, but Inter Miami needs him back as soon as possible. The organization is currently in last place in the MLS Eastern Conference with a 5-12 record. The team’s next game will be on June 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Philadelphia Union.

More on Messi

Marsman has time to rest before Messi’s first game with the team. The international superstar is set to make his Inter Miami debut on July 21, when the team faces Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup.

The contest will be at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Inter Miami’s home arena. With such a high ticket demand, the organization will increase capacity at the stadium by 3,000 to 3,200 before Messi’s debut, increasing the total capacity to around 22,000.

Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas is thrilled to welcome Messi.

“Having the world’s greatest player here is something that is significant for our league, and for the football ecosystem in the United States … Lionel Messi is coming to this country to win cups and make a difference. I think it’s incumbent upon myself and my partners in the league, the other owners, to seize the moment,” Mas said, according to the “Miami Herald.”