When 16-year-old Znamya Truda goalkeeper Ivan Zaborovsky stopped breathing after being struck by a bolt of lightning during a freak accident in training, it was not known whether the young footballer would pull through.
READ MORE: ‘He feels good’: Club plans celebration as teenage Russian goalkeeper left in coma by LIGHTNING strike at training LEAVES hospital
Fast forward a fortnight and the plucky youngster has been released from hospital, has been given a clean bill of health, and has signed his first ever professional contract with the 3rd division team.
Huge congratulations to 16-year-old goalkeeper, Ivan Zaborovskiy who has signed his first professional contract with the club.#FCZTpic.twitter.com/DlkONU7z6z
Near tragedy quite literally struck when Zaborovsky was knocked to the floor by lightning just as he was about to take a shot at goal during a training session in the Moscow region, forcing the youngster to immediately stop breathing and collapse to the floor in a cloud of black smoke.
There was a reunion at the club’s headquarters for Zaborovsky and the coach who helped save his life by performing emergency CPR as the teen lay stricken on the field of play.
Basov massaged the boy’s heart while emergency services arrived and airlifted the boy to a nearby hospital, we’re he was hooked up to breathing apparatus.
This is the harrowing video of the moment Russian 3rd tier club FC Znamya Truda’s youth goalkeeper Ivan Zaborovsky is struck by lightning in training The 16-year-old is currently in a coma and on a life support machine.pic.twitter.com/aoyiiM0CNO
Even in his critical condition, Zaborovsky’s father insisted his son was responding to commands and even promised that he would grace the field again.
The two gave an interview to Russia’s Channel One. “We heard this huge bang. everyone turned around and saw Ivan lying on the ground.
“When I ran over to him, he was lying face down. I turned him over and saw that his entire jersey was burning on his chest. We then started emergency resuscitation,” Basov said of the alarming moment.
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“The last thing I remember was leaving home. Then I woke up in the hospital,” Zaborovsky said, ensuring reporters everything was getting “better and better”.
