Juan Carlos Garcia, a member of the Honduran squad that competed in the 2014 World Cup, died after a battle with leukemia, the country's soccer federation said Tuesday. He was 29.

He passed away Monday night at Tegucigalpa's Teaching Hospital.

Garcia, who started his professional career with Honduran club Marathon, went on to play for this capital's Olimpia side before joining England's Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2013.

He played for Tenerife on loan in 2014, but returned to Wigan after being diagnosed with leukemia in February 2015.

The English side provided assistance to Garcia as he underwent treatment and was planning to reincorporate him for the 2016-2017 season until the defender's health took a turn for the worse.

Garcia returned to Honduras late last year.

He had 34 caps with Honduras and scored a key goal in a qualifier against the United States to help the squad reach the World Cup in 2014.