Footballer returns after 11 months in coma

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. Dallas Cowboysdefensive tackleAmobi Akoyewas cleared by doctors for full football activities 11 months after being placed in a medically induced coma at a Houston hospital to stabilize recurring seizures, informs “Armenpress”.

Okoye was diagnosed in March 2013 with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, a potentially lethal brain injury that includes seizures and memory issues.

He is the first football player to attempt to come back from the disease.

He was cleared by Dr. Imo Aisiku after a trip to Boston and will rejoin the Cowboys in Dallas. The disease is relatively new, discovered in 2007. In order to begin practicing, Okoye will have to be removed from the non-football illness list.

"I'm listening to the doctors and what they're saying and we're kind of working through this together because it is new," head athletic trainer Jim Maurer said. "It's not been done, so it will be a work in progress.