RUGBY League star Adrian Purtell re-lived the moment he thought he was going to die as he set a date for his comeback.

The 28-year-old Australian has not played since suffering a heart attack in the aftermath of Bradford’s Magic Weekend defeat by Leeds at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium on May 27.

He was rushed from the M62 to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, where doctors diagnosed a heart attack and sent him to a special cardiac unit in Leeds.

It happened two months after footballer Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup match between Bolton and Tottenham Hotspur.

“It was scary when they first told me – and I was there by myself,” Purtell recalled.

“At that point I didn’t know anything about the situation and thought, ‘am I going to die?’”

Purtell spent three days in hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery, and went through a series of MRI scans over the following months.

However, unlike Muamba, who was forced to retire, Purtell was given the all-clear in November to resume his career and has set his sights on returning to action before the end of next month.

Now he has pledged to help other heart attack victims and was unveiled as Yorkshire’s first ambassador for Heart Research UK at a press conference at Odsal’s Provident Stadium.

“This is a special one for me because I know at first hand what needs to be done in those scary situations,” he said.