Almost three years after collapsing on the pitch, Dutch footballer Abdelhak Nouri has awoken from a coma and is back at home with his family.
Nouri was one of the most promising footballers in the Ajax academy when he suffered permanent brain damage when he had a cardiac arrhythmia attack during a pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen in July 2017.
The 22-year-old’s family have been told he will never fully recover, but his brother, Abderrahim, has revealed he can communicate by raising his eyebrows and that he reacts when watching football on television.
Nouri belonged to the same generation of talent that included Frenkie de Jong and Donny van de Beek and helped the club reach the Champions League semi-finals last season.
His brother said: “He is aware of where he is, he is back in a familiar environment with his family. He is no longer in a coma. He is very bedridden and still dependent on us.”
Almost a year after the accident, in June 2018, Ajax admitted that the medical treatment Nouri received on the pitch was “inadequate”.
Ajax chief executive Edwin van der Sar said cardiologists studying new evidence put forward by the family found too much time was spent clearing Nouri’s airways. A defibrillator should also “have been used sooner”, he said.
Van der Sar added: “Had this happened, it’s possible that Abdelhak would have come out in a better condition. This is not certain, but it is a possibility. We recognise our responsibility and liability for the consequences of this.”
Nouri made 15 senior appearances for Ajax before his collapse. He was named in the team of the tournament at the Under-19 European Championship of 2016.
His friend and former Ajax team-mate De Jong has revealed how Nouri played a part in securing his move to Barcelona last summer.
“When I sat with him, his mother came in,” said De Jong.
“She then asked, ‘Appie, Appie, where should Frenkie go? To Barcelona?’ As soon as she said that, his eyebrow rose. That was a very special moment.”
