ISTANBUL

American football player Damar Hamlin is awake and able to communicate with his doctors after Monday's collapse in the middle of a National Football League (NFL) game, said his team.

The Buffalo Bills said in a statement that Hamlin made "substantial improvement in his condition over the past 24 hours."

"Among those improvements include Hamlin being awake and responsive with the ability to move both his hands and feet, while also being able to communicate with his doctors, nurses and family members via writing on a clipboard. More, Hamlin's neurological condition and function is intact after suffering cardiac arrest on Monday night," it added.

Hamlin is still intubated to assist with breathing and the next hurdle in his recovery is to progress to breathing on his own, according to University of Cincinnati Health physicians William Knight IV and Timothy Pritts.

When Hamlin awoke Wednesday night, one of the first questions he asked via writing was who won the Bills-Bengals clash. Doctors told him: "You won. You've won the game of life."

Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed after making a tackle during a Monday NFL match between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.

The game, held in Cincinnati, Ohio, was suspended and will not resume, the NLF announced on Thursday.

The 24-year-old player has been playing for the Bills, based in Western New York state, since 2021.