Rangers great Nacho Novo returns to the pitch after heart attack | OneFootball

Rangers great Nacho Novo returns to the pitch after heart attack | OneFootball

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Blaise Bourgeois·17 November 2018

Rangers great Nacho Novo returns to the pitch after heart attack

Article image:Rangers great Nacho Novo returns to the pitch after heart attack

Back in January, Nacho Novo suffered a heart attack while playing for a team of Rangers legends in the AOK Traditionmasters tournament in Berlin.

Since that day, Novo has undergone heart surgery, suffered a stroke months later and then went through a months-long battle with depression.


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The 39-year-old, who played for Rangers from 2004 to 2010, has made a fantastic recovery and will return to the pitch for Kris Boyd’s testimonial on Saturday.

Novo was given a clean bill of health and wants to honour his former team-mate.

“I’ll be nervous about it – and that’s always going to be there but I need to put that out of my mind and try to enjoy myself because I miss playing. A lot.

“So I’m available for selection, although how long for I don’t know because I get tired every now and then. This will be my first 11-a-side game since my heart scare so I need to take it easy.

“Kilmarnock are using first-team players during the first half so I won’t be on for that!

“I’ve only had two five-a-side matches since coming out of hospital so I need to take things slowly and build up my fitness levels. As soon as I start to feel tired I’ll come off but my problem is that I can’t control myself.

“When I suffered my heart attack during that fives game in Germany, I could feel it coming on just as I was tackled by this German defender.

“He smashed me against the wall and, even though I could feel the pain growing, I started to chase the player until I caught him!

“After that, I was flat out but that’s my problem – I’m competitive and I just love the game.

“But the big thing for me is to be part of Kris’ big day because he deserves it. He’s a good pro and he’s one of the greatest goalscorers in the Scottish game.”