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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Joe Cooper

Horrifying moment Russian footballer is struck by lightning during warm-up

A 16-year-old Russian footballer was struck by lightning as he warmed up before a match.

Ivan Zaborovsky, a teenage goalkeeper who plays for youth team FC Znamya Truda, fell to the ground in dramatic scenes as a blinding flash enveloped the stadium.

The footage, filmed in July from the Moscow-based stadium, shows the team warming up on the pitch.

Zaborovsky is walking along one side of the pitch as his team mates are gathered to the other side.

All of a sudden, the ground is lit up completely for a split second, before it becomes clear that Zaborovsky has been hit.

Burnt ash rises from the ground where the lightning struck (via REUTERS)

For a few seconds his team mates are caught completely unaware, before they realise that Zaborovsky is lying motionless on the floor.

The grass is charred around the stationary figure as they all run over to check that he is okay.

Coach Anton Basov sped over to discover his goalkeeper lying face down on the pitch. He flipped him over to discover the front of his jersey had been burnt.

The player who so often had saved his team was now the one who needed saving.

After Basov performed first aid, Zaborovsky was taken to hospital where he was put in an induced coma to assess his injuries.

Zaborovsky not only survived the strike, but was back playing a few weeks later (REUTERS)

Less than three weeks later, Zaborovsky has returned to the pitch.

The only thing that reminds him of what could have been a deadly incident is a burn on his chest, where he had been wearing a chain.

"It was difficult to breathe, but that's about it," he said. "It's getting better and better now. Things are back to normal."

On Tuesday, Zaborovsky signed a contract with his club's senior team, which plays in Russia's third division, something that had been planned before the lightning strike.

"Ivan is the goalkeeper on the regional team. He has good prospects," Basov said.

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