One of the friends dove into the water to rescue Nico, who had lost a large volume of blood, while another waited to haul both of them back on to the rock.
A police boat was the first to arrive on the scene, attending officers applying tourniquets to Nico’s leg to restrict bleeding.
New South Wales Police Superintendent Joseph McNulty said police were met with a “horrendous” scene as Nico became unconscious due to extreme blood loss.
CPR was administered before he was taken by ambulance to the Sydney Children’s Hospital, where he underwent surgery.
Police confirmed in a statement on Tuesday afternoon that Nico was alive and remained in hospital care.
Piñeiro kicked off the GoFundMe page to support his close friends with “upcoming expenses and related arrangements” as they went through an “unimaginably hard time”.
The initiative has seen an outpouring of support from the online community.
“My heart hurts,” one Facebook user who shared the fundraiser link posted.
Nico’s local football club shared a tribute to the young player.
“Nico has been part of the Goal family for seven years, a talented and dedicated sportsman,” Goal Soccer Academy wrote on social media.
The club added that Nico had represented them in tournaments such as the Sydney International Cup.
Nico was the first victim of four separate shark attacks in New South Wales since the weekend.
An 11-year-old boy had his surfboard bitten by a shark at Dee Why, near Manly on Monday.
Later that same night, a bull shark attacked 27-year-old, Andre de Ruyter while he surfed at Manly.
He was taken to hospital in a critical condition after receiving bites to his legs.
The most recent attack took place today at Point Plomer when a 39-year-old was bitten through his wetsuit, the shark also taking a chunk out of his surfboard.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.
