The central defender woke up from a coma at the weekend with no memory of the plane crash that wiped almost his entire teammates, and doctors had initially decided to withhold information about the crash until he was capable of handling the emotional shock

Hélio Hermito Zampier Neto, known professionally by the mononym Neto, was one of the six survivors of LaMia Flight 2933 that crashed in the hills of northwestern Colombia Nov. 28 and killed 71 people on board, including 19 of Neto’s teammates.

The defender went on to have surgery on his lung, knee and wrist but has been told he will play again.

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His father took to Facebook to share the news saying:  “I can inform with much satisfaction and happiness that my son is getting better and better.

“They’ve just operated on his legs and the doctors have assured that he will be able to return playing football.”

Upon gaining consciousness after almost two weeks, Neto asked who won the final of the Copa Sudamericana and why he was unable to play, team doctor Edson Stakonski said.

The two additional surviving Chapecoense players, Alan Ruschel and Jackson Follmann, are returning to Brazil today, but Neto’s condition precludes him from leaving San Vicente Foundation Hospital in Rionegro for the time being, according to Stakonski.

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In just its third season since gaining promotion to Brazil’s premier Serie A in 2014, Chapecoense was in the midst of an unexpected run to the finals of the tournament, considered to be the continent’s second most important, which draws teams from a number of major leagues.

The match was suspended after the crash and the Chapecoense team was declared the winner last week after Atletico Nacional, their scheduled opponent, requested that they be awarded the title.