Former France international defender, Jean-Pierre Adams has died at the age of 73.
Adams spent the last 39 years in a coma following an anaesthesia error at Lyon Hospital as part of a routine knee operation he undertook at the age of 34 on March 17, 1982.
He was confirmed to have died on Monday morning at Nimes University Hospital.
Back in 1982, after suffering a ligament rupture injury, the former Nice and Paris Saint-Germain centre-back had routine knee surgery but an error from the anaesthetist starved his brain of oxygen and he slipped into a coma.
Adams, who had two sons to his wife, Laurent and Frédéric, had had a problem with the anesthesia and the doctor operating on his knee is reported to have been working on eight patients concurrently.
Adam’s life was turned upside down following the botched operation. He spent over half his life in a coma and throughout that time, he was supported by his incredibly loyal wife Bernadette.