And now for a little bit of good news. Ajax midfielder Abdelhak ‘Appie’ Nouri has woken up after spending over a year in a coma.
The 21-year-old was rushed to hospital in Innsbruck last July after collapsing during a pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen. Ajax subsequently confirmed that he had been left with “serious and permanent” brain damage after suffering cardiac arrhythmia.
However, after things looked incredibly bleak for several months, the latest update from Nouri’s brother Abderrahim sounds entirely more positive (quotes via Eurosport):
On the 5th of August, Appie woke up and communicated with gestures of his head.
His neurological condition is better than a few months ago, he is physically almost completely still, he just moves his head, sometimes they get out of bed and move him in a wheelchair.
Over the past 13 months, the only improvement in Nouri’s condition was that he became able to breath independently without a life-support machine.
Now he’s awake and communicating with his family, who he reportedly “recognised immediately” after opening his eyes.
What the future holds is unclear, but at least things are moving in the right direction.
Once again, here’s wishing him the very best.