Abdelhak Nouri has been transferred to an Amsterdam hospital.
The 20-year-old Ajax player had collapsed during a preseason game in Austria a week ago, and it was confirmed by the club later in the week that he had suffered ‘severe and permanent’ damage to his brain as a result.
With his treatment continuing, hundreds of the club’s fans gathered outside the home of the player’s parents in the Geuzenveld district of Amsterdam, applauding, chanting his name and lighting flares.
Nouri’s teammates – some of whom are in tears – can be seen in the video below making their way through the crowd. Although the tweet suggests the players are visiting Nouri, it’s believed they’re actually visiting his parents.
Emotional moments of #Ajax players going to visit Nouri! #StayStrongAppie pic.twitter.com/NT9cBqZVJL
— Diego Montalvan (@DMontalvan) July 15, 2017
According to the statement released by Ajax, Nouri is said to have suffered cardiac arrhythmias – heart rhythm problems – during the friendly match against Werder Bremen. The damage sustained to his brain is believed to be as a result of it being starved of oxygen.
Having received attention on the pitch for several minutes, Nouri was airlifted to Innsbruck, where he was treated in the intensive care unit of the city’s hospital. Earlier in the week, the club had indicated that tests had shown the player’s heart to be functioning normally and that brain scans had not detected ‘any anomalies’.
Unfortunately, developments in the time since have proven this information to be incorrect.
