Swedish midfielder Olsson leaves rehab centre after brain illness

Swedish international midfielder Kristoffer Olsson, who was hospitalised in February with a rare brain illness that left him without motor or verbal skills, has returned home from his rehab centre, he announced on social media.

The 29-year-old midfielder, who plays for Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland, fell unconscious in his home on February 20 and was admitted to Aarhus University Hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator.

Tests showed he had suffered several small blood clots due to a rare inflammation of the blood vessels in the brain.

He was transferred to a rehab centre in mid-March to help him regain his motor and verbal skills.

“Six months later I’m back home,” he said in a post to Instagram.

The Swede, who regained his speech and motor functions in mid-April and was well enough to present the SuperLiga trophy to his teammates in late May, said he planned to play professionally again.

However, neither he nor his club have given a timeline for his return.

Hailing from Norrkoping on Sweden’s east coast, Olsson made his competitive debut for Arsenal in 2013, and has since played for Midtjylland and AIK in Sweden, then Krasnodar and Anderlecht, before rejoining Midtjylland permanently last summer after a loan spell. (BSS/AFP)