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- The 62-year-old felt unwell travelling back from a rugby league fixture in Vegas
- He was back in the commentary box for England’s clash with Albania on Friday
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Is England’s squad good enough to win the World Cup?
England legend Stuart Pearce has hailed medical staff for ‘restarting’ his heart and saving his life after suffering a medical emergency on a flight from Las Vegas earlier this month.
The 62-year-old was unwell on the flight back to London on March 2 after he had attended a rugby league match in Las Vegas between Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves.
The Virgin aircraft made an emergency landing in Newfoundland after Pearce fell ill on board.
The former left-back has made a recovery and was even on commentary duties for England’s clash with Albania on Friday night.
In an interview with the Times, Pearce said: ‘My heart was racing a little bit. The medical staff on the plane were magnificent and they made the decision after three hours to drop me off in St John’s in Newfoundland.
‘The hospital staff there basically stopped my heart and restarted it again to put it back into a normal rhythm.
Stuart Pearce has hailed medical staff for ‘restarting’ his heart and saving his life
The England legend had become unwell while flying from watching rugby league in Las Vegas
Pearce’s plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Canada before he was taken to hospital
‘I had five days there and another five days in a hotel waiting for the medical care to get organised, so an extra ten day’s holiday, basically. They think it was caused by a virus.’
It is thought the plane was at 30,000 feet when his illness caused a change of plan.
A source told the Sun that Pearce had appeared to become uncomfortable during the flight and his condition deteriorated as it continued.
On Monday March 10, it was revealed that Pearce had left hospital, and the next day he shared an update live on talkSPORT.
‘Absolutely brilliant. I went to meet my maker last week and it wasn’t God, it was actually Lord Jordan sat in his seat that I went to meet but he said your time’s not up big fella and sent me away,’ he joked.
‘But in all seriousness, I’m in good form. On the flight I had chest pains and stuff like that, the crew on Virgin were brilliant, looked after me fantastically, and just said: ‘look we’re not going to take the chance flying over the Atlantic, we’re going to drop you off.’
‘Five days in hospital, a few days out of hospital sat here, the only down side is our bags went on to London and the only thing we were left with was actually Martin Keown’s autobiography!
‘I can’t speak highly enough, I’ve had some brilliant messages from people, I been fortunate enough to get to watch a few games. I thought the Forest game against Man City was very very humbling. I saw that and all the bits and piece that came out of that.’
Forest fans and Man City fans alike sent well-wishes in the form of a minute’s applause at the start of their match recently, with supporters singing ‘Psycho, Psycho’ – Pearce’s iconic nickname – in the third minute.
