28 September 2023 , 21:56
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Former Manchester United defender Daley Blind says he was never in any doubt that he would continue with his football career despite experiencing a cardiac arrest on the pitch - and then almost suffering another one nine months later.
Dutch international Blind, who has 102 caps for the Netherlands and played for United between 2014 and 2018, was taken ill during a Champions League game for Ajax against Valencia in December 2019, with medics rushing to his aid as he sat down on the turf.
Initially unaware that he was suffering such a serious problem, Blind was able to continue playing in the match and featured for the full 90 minutes.
"My heart recovered by itself and took over," the 33-year-old told an interview with The Athletic. "When it happened I felt light-headed, like when you stand up too quickly, but after a few minutes I felt good again and continued the game. After the game, the doctor had doubts and sent me to hospital.
“They showed me I’d had a cardiac arrest and that was not good. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t believe the doctors. Yet I told my wife and family that if there was a possibility to return to football, I would go for it."
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Daley Blind was treated on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest in 2019 (Dean Mouhtaropoulos)Blind missed just two months of football before returning to the Ajax side in February 2020, playing six matches before football halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He had been fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) which would administer a small shock to his heart if he was ever in a similar position again. Shortly before the start of the 2020-21 season the ICD went off during a pre-season match against Hertha Berlin.
“It’s incredible if I think about that now, but there were no issues until the pre-season of the next season, when it happened again," continued Blind. "I got a shock during the game, because I am wearing an ICD.
“They told me I was close to another heart attack. Because of the adrenaline, there is more oxygen in your body. My heart rate took over by itself but I still got the shock from the ICD because my heart rate went too high.”
Blind was back playing within weeks though, and thankfully hasn't suffered any further issues during his career.
The 33-year-old played 141 matches in four seasons for United, and after moving back to first club Ajax he had a brief spell at Bayern Munich last season before joining Spanish side Girona, the current leaders of La Liga, this summer.