(Washington) Damar Hamlin, a Buffalo Bills player who suffered a cardiac arrest during a game in January, returned to practice on Tuesday in hopes of resuming his American Football League career at age 25. American (NFL).
“What I went through was life changing, but that’s not the end of my story, I have every intention of playing in the NFL again,” Hamlin said after his first training session. training for more than three months.
“All my life I’ve outplayed the odds and I have every intention of continuing,” insisted the “safety,” a position in the Bills’ defensive lineup.
On January 2, during a regular season game of the NFL Championship, opposing his team to Cincinnati, Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a terrible shock suffered while tackling an opponent.
After remaining in critical condition for several days, he regained consciousness and was discharged from hospital on January 11.
“He’s back with a good spirit and he wants to come back” in competition, Bills general manager Brandon Beane said.
“He saw a last specialist on Friday and all the specialists he saw cleared him to return to training, like any other player returning from injury,” the manager said.
Hamlin, who made his NFL debut in 2021, is aware that what he experienced, watched by tens of millions of viewers, made an impression.
“I died live on TV in front of the whole planet […] But to be alive is the greatest gift,” he acknowledged.
“I love this sport, I want to prove to myself and no one else that I can come back. I want to prove that we can choose to be afraid or that we can continue” to do what we love, hammered Hamlin.
His first training was limited to ground exercises and strength training: “Physically, I’m starting from scratch,” he admitted.
His return was hailed by Bills quarterback Josh Allen, among others: “We’re super happy to see him back with us. He’s a hell of a football player,” he recalled.
The Buffalo Bills who, after his cardiac arrest added a 3, Hamlin’s number, to their jerseys, passed the first round of the playoffs in his absence, before finding Cincinnati in the next round and being eliminated (27 -10).
The 2023 NFL Championship season kicks off on September 7.