Former Liverpool and West Ham United defender Rigobert Song looks to have begun the long road to recovery after suffering a stroke over the weekend.
The 40-year-old was rushed to hospital on Sunday after falling ill at his Cameroon home, prompting former clubs and teammates to offer up messages of support.
He remained in intensive care all of Monday, with local reports suggesting requests to transfer him to a hospital in France were put on hold until his condition stabilised.
And now, according to African football journalist Gary Al-Smith, Song is out of his coma and has met the conditions required to be airlifted to Europe.
Good news from Cameroon. Doctors in say Rigobert Song will be airlifted to France by Wednesday as he's started breathing without machines.
— Gary Al-Smith (@garyalsmith) October 3, 2016
According to local publication CamFoot, Cameroon’s Minister Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic visited the former national captain at his bedside.
Song is scheduled to be airlifted to France today, and CamFoot reports that the Minister has met with doctors at the Central Hospital of Yaoundé to ensure everything goes as planned with the evacuation procedure.
Since learning of Song’s conditions, a number of the player’s former Premier League teammates have joined former Cameroon internationals in wishing him a speedy and full recovery.
Song spent several seasons in England during his playing days, racking up 35 games for Liverpool before joining Harry Redknapp’s West Ham in 2000.
He retired from playing in 2010 and has since been coaching in Chad and Cameroon.
https://twitter.com/Robbie9Fowler/status/782696195139436545
Hope everything ends up ok for #rigobertsong
— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) October 2, 2016
Just got the news that Rigobert Song is fighting for his life after having a stroke…get well soon buddy #YNWA
— Patrik Berger (@patrikberger73) October 3, 2016
