Adams has spent the last 39 years in a coma following an anaesthesia error at Lyon Hospital as part of a routine knee operation he undertook at the age of 34 on March 17, 1982.

He was confirmed to have died on Monday morning at Nimes University Hospital.

Adams, who won 22 international caps for France during his professional career, was said to be in ‘great shape’ for the operation.

He was given anaesthetic that should have knocked him out for a few hours as part of the surgery.

But he never woke up and the defender, born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1948, was confirmed to have lost his fight for recovery by French newspaper L’Equipe.

Concern around Adams emerged while he was undertaking a coaching course in Dijon.

Detailed in a long-read on Adams by the Blizzrd, it states how the former defender was on a week-long course but by day three there was concern over his knee.

He quit the course on the morning of the fourth day, such was the concern over a knee issue, and he headed for a hospital in Lyon.

The initial scan reportedly showed damage to a tendon at the back of the knee.

As he headed for the exit the story goes that Adams, who played for Paris Saint-Germain, Nimes and Nice in his career, bumped into a surgeon and after the discussion that followed there was an agreement that the best course of action was to operate on his knee.