Daley Blind Collapses During Pre-Season Game for Ajax
Former Manchester United defender Daley Blind worryingly collapsed while in action for current club Ajax in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday night when his existing heart device triggered.
Blind, who spent four years at Old Trafford from 2014 until 2018, was diagnosed with heart muscle inflammation in December 2019 following extensive medical examination when he complained of dizziness during a Champions League match between Ajax and Valencia.
The 30-year-old spent two months on the sidelines recovering and had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator fitted to monitor and regulate his heartbeat. Without the device, irregular heart rhythms could potentially be dangerous and cause cardiac arrest.
As Ajax faced Hertha Berlin in a pre-season game this week, Blind fell to the ground with his hand on his chest. He received treatment on the pitch and was able to walk off unaided.
Speaking to Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport afterwards, Ajax coach Erik ten Hag explained, “Daley Blind's ICD went off. He got subbed off straight away and he is feeling okay now.”
Ten Hag also confirmed that club medics will conduct tests into what happened.
Speaking about his condition and the ICD in February as he prepared to make his return to action after being first diagnosed, Blind told Ajax TV, “I’m not afraid at all for what can or might happen. I focus on how I feel and I feel good. If I let fear guide me, it will not help.
“[The implant] is protection just in case. In the vast majority of cases it is never used, it is mainly a precaution. Everything is just under the skin rather than in the heart itself.
“But if there happens to be a need for it, I’ll be protected and that gives me peace of mind, but it’s a precautionary measure because I’m a professional athlete. That’s what the doctors decided and that is what has happened. I’m safer than normal people because of it.”
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