One week after he was admitted under emergency circumstances in critical condition, NFL player Damar Hamlin has been released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC) and flown back to Buffalo.

Doctors William Knight IV and Timothy Pritts said they were “thrilled and proud” to announce Hamlin had been transferred to a hospital in Buffalo, saying tests to determine the cause of Hamlin’s cardiac arrest were ongoing, with his recovery continuing with a care team in a hospital in the western New York city.

Hamlin’s medical team in Cincinnati said the 24-year-old passed every test in his seven days there and was “doing well” as he moved on to the next stage of his recovery.

Hamlin posted on social media that the staff at Buffalo General Medical Center had already made him feel at home.

Hamlin will be under the care of a medical team in Buffalo with communication between doctors in the two cities planned for several days.

The doctors said Hamlin’s recovery was standard or perhaps slightly advanced, moving from a ventilator to communicating via written message, then breathing on his own, talking to family, doctors and teammates, and over the weekend began walking and consuming a regular diet.

Hamlin is “neurologically intact” and walking normally, albeit a bit weak after his time in hospital.

Doctors said he even watched Buffalo’s 35-23 win over New England to finish the regular season on Monday (AEDT), which included Buffalo’s Nyheim Hines running two kick-offs back for touchdowns.

This included the opening kick-off of the game.

“He was beyond excited and feels very supported by the outpouring of love,” Dr Pritts said.

Life-saving procedures performed by Bills trainers on the field in Cincinnati during the first quarter of last week’s game helped Hamlin reach intensive care at UCMC last week.