VIENNA (AP) An Ajax midfielder who collapsed due to an irregular heartbeat during a friendly game in Austria on Saturday has suffered ”severe and permanent brain damage.”
The Dutch club says ”it received very bad news regarding the condition of Abdelhak Nouri” after doctors at a hospital in Innsbruck woke up the player from an induced coma.
The diagnosis comes two days after tests indicated that Nouri’s heart was undamaged while a CT scan of his brain and neurological tests showed no irregularities either. Ajax said on Tuesday that doctors were ”cautiously optimistic about his recovery.”
The 20-year-old Dutchman collapsed and was taken to hospital by helicopter with Ajax trailing Werder Bremen 2-1 in Saturday’s preseason friendly.