Former World Cup winner Frank Mill has survived a cardiac arrest after collapsing in a taxi.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker was a member of the West Germany squad that won the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
Mill traveled to Italy last month to participate in a documentary about the World Cup victory.
However, German media reported he suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after boarding a taxi at Milan`s Malpensa airport.
A helicopter was immediately dispatched to transport him to the hospital for emergency surgery.
The 66-year-old was reportedly clinically dead for several minutes before doctors successfully restarted his heart.
Mill was placed in an induced coma for several days to stabilize his condition.
Doctors eventually allowed him to be flown back to his hometown of Essen in Germany to continue his recovery.
Mill`s family declined to comment to the media about the former footballer`s current health status.
Mill earned 17 caps for Germany and also made 20 appearances for the country`s Olympic team.
Mill won the German Cup with Dortmund and helped the team reach the 1993 UEFA Cup final.
As recently as last year, he was still playing for Dortmund`s veterans team.
West Germany manager Franz Beckenbauer included the 5ft 9ins forward in his Italia 90 squad.
However, Mill did not feature in any games as he faced strong competition from players like Jurgen Klinsmann, Rudi Voller, and future Liverpool player Karl-Heinz Riedle.
He also played for Rot-Weiss Essen and Borussia Mönchengladbach, ending his career at Fortuna Dusseldorf.
