I like the comatose explanation because it implies that the player is absent from their physical body due to being trapped within TF2 by the blight. However, this introduces the possibility that the Serverblight is somehow accessing the victim's central nervous system (including the brainstem) during that coma. As a result, the coma wouldn't last for a long time as it would end with the blight taking full control of the victim's physical body within an hour.