Former Bundesliga player Nabil Bentaleb returned to the pitch for the first time in around eight months after suffering a medical emergency.
On Thursday, Lille OSC shared some moving images on its social media channels: a visibly moved Nabil Bentaleb returned to the French soccer club’s training ground through a guard of fans, employees and players – marking the end of an eight-month ordeal for the now 30-year-old.
In June 2024, the midfielder suffered a cardiac arrest during a private soccer game and had to be resuscitated. For a long time, it was unclear whether the former Schalke player would be able to continue his professional career at all after this medical emergency.
On Wednesday evening, the good news finally came: Bentaleb, who has since had a pacemaker inserted, received the green light from the French Football Association’s medical commission to make his comeback on the pitch, including the first team training session on Thursday.
Bentaleb returned to the city of his birth in 2023
After that, he was able to send a first short message to the fans of the Doggen: “I’m very happy to be back on the pitch. And I hope to see you soon at the Stade Pierre Mauroy,” was the message.
“It is a real joy, first of all from a personal and human point of view, to receive this news for Nabil, for his family, after the long and difficult ordeal they have been through. Fear and doubt have now given way to optimism and joy that Nabil is healthy again and can do what he loves most, which is to play football,” said Lille president Olivier Letang in a club statement.
Bentaleb returned to his birthplace in the summer of 2023. The 51-time Algerian international played 34 games across all competitions for his former youth club last season – hopefully there will be many more to come.
