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Former Swansea City midfielder Ferrie Bodde has been placed in an artificial coma after falling ill in Holland.

Bodde became ill on Monday and was placed in a five-day coma by doctors, according to reports in his homeland.

It remains unclear what the Dutchman's illness is, although it has been reported he was admitted to hospital with a bacterial infection.

A family spokesman has reportedly told Dutch media his condition is not life-threatening.

A Swansea City spokesman added "We don’t know all the facts as yet but our thoughts are with Ferrie and his family.

"Ferrie was and still is an extremely popular player at this club and we are all hoping that he makes a recovery.”

Bodde was released by Swansea in June 2012 after a series of horrendous knee injuries.

The 30-year-old midfielder proved a big Swans hit after signing from Dutch club Den Haag for £85,000 in July 2007.

The abrasive Bodde played a big part in Swansea’s promotion to the championship in the 2007-08 campaign and was named in the PFA League One team of the year, despite being sent off twice that season.

Swansea turned down a £5m bid from Bolton but Bodde’s career increasingly became a sorry tale of injuries, operations and failed comebacks.

He first suffered cruciate knee ligament damage in November 2008 and did not return until the following September.

Bodde’s comeback lasted until nine minutes of his first start against Sheffield United and he again suffered a recurrence of the injury in February 2010.

After undergoing a second major operation which saw him miss the whole of Swansea’s promotion-winning 2010-11 season, Bodde signed a new one-year contract.

But he underwent a third operation the following September and failed to fully recover.

Bodde spent time training with former club ADO Den Haag, and was set to play for top Dutch amateur club Haaglandia this season before injury troubles persisted.

In December last year he was appointed coach of SV Wateringse Veld.