Old Dominion basketball player Imo Essien returns to practice just FOUR DAYS after…

Just four days after collapsing during Old Dominion’s win over Georgia Southern, sophomore Imo Essien returned to practice. 

With a little over 13 minutes remaining in the first half Saturday, Essien was playing defense when he abruptly collapsed on the court. He appeared to briefly attempt to get back up again before going back down in pain. 

The guard was immediately attended to by trainers of both schools and appeared to remain conscious throughout the ordeal and walked off the court. 

Essien revealed he felt like he was breathing through a straw during the scary ordeal as he returned to practice Tuesday.  

‘Replaying it,’ Essien said via WTKR. ‘This doesn’t happen, especially for someone like me. I’ve been playing basketball all my life.’

‘It was very hard to breathe,’ he recalled. ‘I felt like I couldn’t catch my wind and at the end there, right before I went down, it just felt like all my wind was gone.’

The guard returned to practice on Tuesday but was only allowed to participate in drills

Essien’s frightening episode occurred just five days after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest in Cincinnati against the Bengals on Monday Night Football. 

‘It was scary as hell,’ added head coach Jeff Jones. ‘Particularly in light of the (Damar) Hamlin situation happening so recently, I think the worst kind of flashed through everybody’s minds.’

ODU’s head athletic trainer Jason Mitchell, along with other medical staff, helped Essien’s breathing return to normal and he eventually rejoined his team on the bench during the second half of Saturday’s game. 

The school received a further boost Tuesday as Essien returned to training. While he is not allowed to participate in live basketball, Essien could take part in drills. 

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin (left) went into cardiac arrest following a hit on Cincinnati wide receiver Tee Higgins during the game against the Bengals last Monday

It is still unclear what triggered Essien’s collapse Saturday and the matter of his return appears to be a waiting game.  

‘I’m waiting until the cardiologist, the pulmonologist and whoever the heck else it is… if they all give the thumbs up then that’s great,’ Jones said. ‘If they want to wait, then we wait.’

‘I’m jealous of these guys,’ Essien said while smiling. ‘These guys get to go out there and play ball. They get to play and compete against somebody else and I wish I could be doing that, but at the same time I understand what just happened. I understand the seriousness of a situation.’

The sophomore described the ordeal as as the scariest moment of his life but insisted his teammates, coaches and parents’ presence reassured him.  

Essien collapsed with just over 13 minutes remaining in the first half of the Monarchs’ win

‘Fortunately for me, my brothers had my back, my coaching staff has me, my parents were there so I was very comfortable after the situation,’ he recalled. ‘A lot of emotions running through a lot of people.’

Old Dominion had issued a statement Saturday night following its 81-75 win in the Peach State, updating on the status of Essien. 

‘Imo Essien was evaluated by the ODU Athletic Training staff along with the GA Southern medical staff,’ the school said. 

Georgia Southern players alongside Essien’s Old Dominion teammates were initially distraught

‘He was responsive throughout and was able to sit with the team for the duration of the game and drove home with the team. He is in good spirits and will work with the ODU Sports Medicine Staff when they return to Norfolk.’ 

According to WTKR, Essien was set to visit a cardiologist Monday to assess his return to the court for the Monarchs.  

Jones told the North Carolina outlet that Essien’s ‘vital signs were normal and he never lost consciousness.’

The sophomore also underwent a COVID test, which came back negative.