Survivor of Chapecoense Plane Crash to Feature Against Messi and Co in Friendly

Alan Ruschel, one of the six survivors on board LaMia Flight 2933 in November, is set to return to the field as Chapecoense face Barcelona in a friendly match on August 7th. The left-back, on loan from Brazilian side Internacional, suffered back injuries in the crash and spent a significant amount of time in the hospital following the accident.

Defender Neto, who has spent time with the Chapecoense youth teams following the accident, will not return to action, along with goalkeeper Jakson Follmann who had to have part of his leg amputated following injuries sustained in the crash.

"Alan’s return represents an important step in overcoming it and in the process of rebuilding the Club," a statement from Chapecoense explained.

Ruschel was the first of the survivors to reach a hospital, while goalkeeper Neto wasn't discovered until almost eight hours after the plane was forced to make a crash landing.

The tragedy of the Chapecoense crash touched the footballing world last year after flight LMI2933, carrying the Chapecoense players, staff, journalists and guests, crashed in Colombia as the club travelled to Medellín to face Atlético Nacional in the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals.