Paris Saint Germain goalkeeper Sergio Rico on Friday left the hospital after being in a coma for almost three years.
The Spaniard got injured horribly in a horse-riding accident and fought for his life in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for two and a half months.
The 29-year-old thanked God as soon as he stepped out of the hospital and confirmed that he will continue his further recovery at home.
"It's been a dream, thank God I'm out of it,” Rico said. “They say that the brain is intelligent and erases all these kinds of events. It was a dream. I woke up in the hospital and thank God I got out today. I feel very excited, very happy and giving thanks.”
He thanked his family and especially his wife Alba Silva, who stayed with him for 82 days.
“I thank my wife, my family, everyone who has been here. She has spent 20 hours a day with me. I'm very grateful and without her support, it wouldn't have been possible.”
The 29-year-old also PSG and his former club Sevilla and the football world for praying for his safe return to life.
“I wanted to say a word of thanks above all for the respect you have all shown to my family, to my wife above all, to the world of football, both Paris [Saint-Germain] and Sevilla, as well as to many of my team-mates who have played with me and have sent me messages of support. Everything is appreciated," he added.
"From the first day I arrived here the Biris [Sevilla section] came with a banner that we have kept. I've said it many times: I'm a Sevilla fan and I hope that one day I can return to Sevilla.”
The hospital did not provide any information regarding the footballer's return to the field.
Rico’s PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe could not hide his happiness when saw the picture of the goalkeeper walking out of the hospital with his wife and shared it on his Instagram story with the caption:
“Pic of the day. You’re not going to see something better than this. So happy to see you like that my bro.”