Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has opened up on the moments that he showed symptoms of what was subsequently diagnosed as a brain haemorrhage in July 2023.
Van der Sar was admitted to hospital and placed in intensive care after falling ill on a family holiday in Croatia.
A week later, he was transported to a hospital in his home country of the Netherlands, before subsequently being released from the intensive care unit.
In September 2023, Van der Sar took to Twitter to share photos of himself doing gym work, and he visited Old Trafford for their Boxing Day fixture against Aston Villa.
Advert
He has rarely spoken about his health since then but, in a new interview with former United team-mate Gary Neville on The Overlap, spoke candidly about the day he suffered the brain haemorrhage.
Van der Sar explained that he had begun to feel 'dizzy' while walking to the toilet in his hotel room, shortly after waking up.
He was sharing the hotel room with his family, including wife Annemarie van Kesteren, who also suffered and recovered from a brain haemorrhage while the Dutchman was playing for United in 2009.
Van der Sar revealed that his first reaction was to ask his wife to 'close the curtains' in their room, before he then sat on the bed while his wife called the emergency services.
"We had a great holiday, a sailing holiday in Croatia," he began.
"On the last day, in the hotel, I'd just got up and went to the toilet. I felt dizzy, and felt my neck.
"I came back in the room and said, 'Close the curtains'. Then I sat on the bed - I'm not well.
"My wife called the doctor, and [they said] it was like a brain haemorrhage."
Van der Sar had resigned from his role as chief executive of Ajax just five weeks before his illness - a decision he says ultimately played a key role in shaping his recovery.
"One of the things that helped, at that time, was I'd just quit my job," he said. "Five weeks before that, I'd resigned.
"It was a big step, of course, for me, but I felt great. I'd brought Ajax to a point where I thought, 'Okay, maybe I can't bring more to the club than I did'.
"I had a great holiday, all relaxed, and then something like that happens to you. So you go to the hospital, we were in intensive care... three weeks in hospital.
"Then you start the recovery process, the rehabilitation.
"[Like] as a player, you want the best people around you, and I got a programme fitted for [me].
"I had no pressure of getting back into a job - no emails, no phone calls, no decision-making. I think that helped a lot to get me back up to the level I am now."
He added that he had not been told a definitive cause of the brain haemorrhage, before opening up on his recovery process: "It was just natural [the cause]. Something happens in the brain, or the back of your neck, and then you're out."
"Now, it's almost three years," he continued. "The time to recover, to find the time - no stress, no phone calls in your hand. You're not in a rush. Just doing the stuff that you want - wake up when you want, walk the dog, go on holiday.
"Just nice things that I never had the chance to do, because I started playing at 18 and 19, finished playing at 40. Then 41, I became a director at Ajax until 53.
"So I took a step back. It took a lot longer than I already thought, to be fair. But we're enjoying ourselves."
Topics: Edwin Van Der Sar, Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Ajax, Gary Neville
Ryan Smart