sport news Leeds keeper Dani van den Heuvel speaks for first time on the horror car crash ... trends now
Leeds goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel has revealed how he feared for his life after he was knocked unconscious in a ‘terrifying’ car crash.
The 19-year-old was sat in the back of a vehicle which veered into a traffic pole at speed while on international duty with Holland Under 19s in the summer.
Van den Heuvel broke his neck and jaw in the accident but has now returned to training with Leeds admitting he feels fortunate to be able to play football again.
Leeds goalkeeper Dani van den Heuvel returned to action in an Under 21s friendly last week
Opening up on his ordeal for the first time while on the Whites’ mid-season training camp in Spain, the Dutchman said: ‘It was a bad, bad crash.
‘There was one staff member and three other players in the car. We were driving on the main road and someone tried to cross the road from a side road. We had to avoid him, so our driver steered right. We drove into a traffic pole.
‘I was unlucky that I was in the middle backseat so I was the only one who didn’t get an airbag. I was the worst injured.
‘I was unconscious. After the impact, I can’t remember anything. I woke up in the car. The car was smoking, beeping. There was glass everywhere. I remember my jaw was really painful, my neck just felt really stiff. It was scary.
‘Did I worry for my life? Yes, definitely. That quick moment when everything goes dark, when I think back about it, it is just like an empty space. It was a terrifying experience.
The goalkeeper feared for his life after he was knocked unconscious in a ‘terrifying’ car crash
‘I was in the hospital for a couple days and had to get surgery on my jaw. The first week was really scary. I was really emotional. It did a lot of damage. It was mentally really tough.
‘You're scared of what might happen when you first hear about some fractures in your neck. The first thing you think about is being paralysed.
‘But after they said you've got zero per cent chance of getting paralysed, that's the moment your mentality switches.’
During his time in hospital, Van den Heuvel was buoyed by a visit from his Dutch team-mates who
