Hamlin is awake and asks: Did we win?

NFL star Damar Hamlin is awake and has communicated via writing with doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre.

After making a routine tackle during Monday night’s game on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, Buffalo Bills safety Hamlin, 24, collapsed and suffered a cardiac arrest. Bills medical staff administered CPR and oxygen on the field to resuscitate him. Hamlin has been in intensive care since and remains critically ill. Yet after waking, his first question was: ‘Did we win?’

His doctor Timothy Pritts replied: ‘Damar, you won — you won the game of life.’ This proved ‘not only that the lights are on, we know he’s home’, said Dr Pritts. He added: ‘I can clarify he did not speak but he communicated in writing. He’s unable to speak as he has a breathing tube in.’ Hamlin is moving his hands and feet. His next target is to come off his ventilator.’