Footballer diagnosed with permanent brain damage after collapse

Brussels: Dutch side Ajax confirmed that young midfielder Abdelhak Nouri has sustained permanent brain damage after collapsing during a friendly football match.

The 33-time Eredivisie champion Ajax was playing a friendly game against German Werder Bremen in Austria on July 8, when Nouri, 20, collapsed in the 72nd minute of the match, reports Efe news.

"#Ajax are deeply saddened by the news that Appie Nouri has been diagnosed with serious and permanent brain damage," the club said on Twitter.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his loved ones in this difficult time," the club, which had announced previously that Nouri's life was not in danger and his heart has not sustained any damage, added.

The player got medical help on the field, before he was moved by helicopter to a hospital in the Austrian city of Innsbruck, where he remains in a medically induced coma.