Missing footballer Emiliano Sala's dog has been waiting patiently for his return for more than 2 weeks

Sala's plane lost contact with air traffic control on Jan. 21.

Sulaiman Daud | February 06, 2019, 05:22 PM

Tragedy struck the English Premier League when one of their players vanished before he even played a single match.

Emiliano Sala is an Argentinian who found fame as a striker with French club FC Nantes, scoring 12 goals in 19 league appearances during the latest season.

He had agreed to a £15 million move to Premier League club Cardiff City.

Plane lost contact

On Jan. 21, he boarded a small private plane with pilot Dave Ibbotson, traveling from France to Wales.

However, the plane lost contact with air traffic control, and has not been heard from since.

On Feb. 3, Sala's sister Romina Sala shared a photo on her Facebook page of Sala's dog, named Nala, waiting by an open door.

Her caption simply reads, "Nala is waiting for you too."

Photo from Romina Sala's Facebook page.

Canine companion

Sala had gotten the dog for companionship while he was playing in France.

She popped up from time to time on his Instagram page:

View this post on Instagram

Paz#Nala#😄🐶🏖

A post shared by Emiliano Sala (@emilianosala9) on

And this, which reads "Nothing like going out together, next to each other."

View this post on Instagram

Nada como ir juntos a la par#😎🐶

A post shared by Emiliano Sala (@emilianosala9) on

Plane wreckage located

Unfortunately, hopes for a miracle have faded.

On Feb. 4, the BBC reported that the wreckage of Sala's plane had been located.

According to air crash investigators, a body could be seen among the debris.

A recovery effort is underway to retrieve the body.

Top image adapted from Emiliano Sala's Instagram page.