– I hear my wife’s screams getting louder and louder. Then I begin to understand that something is really, really bad. My jacket had caught fire, but I didn’t see it. The football profile was not immediately aware of what had happened. New Year’s Eve 2020 had started well at home in the fairly new apartment in Turkey. Due to the corona situation, the country was closed, and he and his wife wanted to do something nice for the children. They decided on fireworks. WITH GLASSES: Omar Elabdellaoui wears sunglasses to protect his vision. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news – When I try to light it, everything explodes at once. I felt a strong blow to the face, it turns black almost immediately. Within a few minutes, I feel that my face is etching, that it is burning. It’s a lot of pain, and a shock at the same time. You cannot register everything at once, recalls Elabdellaoui to Anne Lindmo in an interview that will be shown on news on Friday. – Many dark thoughts The Galatasaray professional was quickly taken to hospital in Istanbul. News of the accident spread quickly, and horrific images were shared online. The left eye was full of gunpowder sludge, the right eyelid was burnt off, in addition to the cornea being damaged. The situation is literally dark. – Everything is completely black for me, and it was very special, says the man who was national team captain for Norway. WITHOUT A CLUB: Omar Elabdellaoui got 17 games for Galatasaray from 2020-2022. Now he is looking for a new club. Photo: JOSEP LAGO / AFP Elabdellaoui remembers being both unsure and scared. A feeling of losing control, and the fear of never seeing his family again. As well as the thoughts of whether he could ever play more football. – I am a person who usually overthinks a lot, so you can imagine a person who already overthinks lying there completely in the dark. There will soon be a lot of dark thoughts. It was incredibly scary. Childhood friend and agent Mikail Adampour sat straight on the plane. Once there he was determined to help with what he could and he wanted to know as much as possible about the injury. They were both aware that it was far from certain that Elabdellaoui would ever regain normal vision. FRIEND AND AGENT: Childhood friend Mikail Adampour is Elabdellaoui’s agent. Photo: Julia Marie Naglestad / news 22 interventions He finally found an eye specialist in Kentucky, USA. According to Adampour, he took the job even though he considered it only a 5 percent chance of recovery. – The doctor said it was the worst thing he had ever seen, says Adampour at Lindmo. Even Elabdellaoui was shielded from the worst information. The friend said instead that he looked good. – He has taken care of everything, and procured the best doctor. Very few, if any, had managed to give me my sight back, so that means everything, he praises. He gradually got some of his sight back, but it took stem cells from his one sister and a total of 22 operations before he was back on the football pitch 14 months later. Right then, he felt that all the tough moments were worth it. And in September, the 30-year-old was also back at the national team meeting. Because his vision is now 100 percent, but he wears glasses for protection. The club’s future is uncertain, after the contract with the Turkish big club was terminated earlier this autumn. – It feels incredibly nice to be back. This means an incredible amount to me. I have been through a lot, Elabdellaoui told the Norwegian press before the Slovenia match. See Lindmo on news 1 Friday at 21.35, and on news TV now.
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Open Elabdellaoui about the nightmare night – felt the face etched off – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
