Dutch footballer wakes up from coma
A Dutch footballer who collapsed on the pitch and went into a coma two years ago has finally woken up and is on the road to recovery, his family has announced.
Abdelhak ‘Appie’ Nouri, who until his injury was attached to Ajax Amsterdam, sustained severe and permanent brain damage after suffering a cardiac arrhythmia in a friendly match between his team and German outfit Werder Bremen in July 2017.
“The 22-year-old was in a coma for months but is now recovering in a house built especially for him, where he sleeps, eats, frowns and burps but is very dependent,” according to Dutch website AD.
Nouri’s brother Abderrahim said the pair communicate through raising their eyebrows but the promising midfielder also physically reacts when watching football on television.
His father Mohammed told the site the family had been through a serious ordeal. “We have to take care of him at our very best. We try to do a lot ourselves,” he said.
Nouri burst on the scene as a teenager in 2016 and was considered one of the club’s most talented prospects.