Bulgarian Todor Nedelev leaves the ICU and is “conscious” after undergoing surgery

BERLIN, June 12 (dpa/EP) –

Bulgarian midfielder Todor Nedelev is conscious and responding after undergoing surgery for several injuries to the skull and brain caused by the serious traffic accident suffered by the bus carrying his team, the Bulgarian Football Federation said in a statement on Sunday.

The former Mainz player, injured in the team’s bus accident before the Nations League match in Georgia – in which no one else was injured – was transferred from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Tbilisi University Hospital to neurosurgery department.

Doctors said the operation had gone well, but there was still no specific date for the 29-year-old’s discharge. “This was a serious operation, and at the moment we should not rush anything. The most important thing is for Todor to remain calm and recover as well as possible,” said Dr. Shota Ingorokva, who performed the operation.