George Baldock cause of death established as drowning after ex-Sheffield United defender tragically found in his Athens swimming pool

On Wednesday evening, Baldock was found dead in his swimming pool at his villa in Athens after reports were raised by his wife to the emergency services. Despite the medical personnel's best efforts, they were unable to resuscitate the 31-year-old. While the police are yet to release the official cause of death, Greek outlet Ekathimerini have reported Baldock's cause of death was determined by a medical examiner to be drowning in water. A toxicology report has also been carried out, with results to come in several days.

Baldock made more than 200 appearances for Sheffield United - including 83 outings in the Premier League - before joining Greek side Panathinaikos this summer. The circumstances surrounding the British-Greek defender's death haven't been fully disclosed but the Hellenic Police in Athens have ruled out criminal activity while they continue to investigate the matter.

A statement from Hellenic Police in Athens, released on Thursday, said [via Sky Sports]: "The preliminary investigation is carried out by the Attica Security Directorate. A forensic pathologist was called to the scene and examined the body with no evidence of criminal activity.

"The police searched the house to determine if there were any signs of a burglary with a negative result. In addition, a specialised team of the Criminal Investigation Directorate of the police carried out a check on the house in order to rule out the possibility of criminal activity."

Greece and England are set to take each other on later today in a Nations League group-stage match after the Greek FA saw their request to postpone the match owing to Baldock's untimely death denied by UEFA due to a lack of available dates, according to the Daily Mail. There will be a moment of silence in honour of the defender before the start of the match at Wembley, and the players will also wear black armbands.