Stuart Pearce breaks his silence after England legend suffered a medical emergency on a transatlantic flight

England legend Stuart Pearce has broken his silence after suffering a medical emergency on a flight from Las Vegas last week. 

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 on Monday after Pearce fell ill on board. 

Pearce had since been recuperating in hospital in Canada, with Mail Sport reporting on Saturday that the former Nottingham Forest captain had been taking calls from well-wishers as he made progress in his recovery. 

On Monday, it was revealed that Pearce had left hospital, and on Tuesday morning, the broadcaster 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. 

Pearce appeared on talkSPORT after it was revealed he had suffered a medical emergency

On Saturday fans of Nottingham Forest and Man City sent their best to the recovering pundit – who featured as a player for both sides

‘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 at the weekend, with supporters singing ‘Psycho, Psycho’ – Pearce’s iconic nickname – in the third minute. 

When then questioned on what precisely went on when he realised there may be a health issue, he added: ‘My heart rate was racing. My resting heart rate from the time I was monitored on the airplane to the few days in hospital, my resting heart rate was anything above 155 bpm. It was ridiculous really. 

‘Also my heart wasn’t pumping enough blood around the system by all accounts, and there was some swelling. They gave me medication to get that down. At the end of the week too on Friday they said we’re going to stick a tube down your throat and if there’s no swelling around your heart, we’ll stop your heart ad reboot it again, and that’s exactly what they did. 

‘On Friday my heart went back to a normal rate and they released me the following day.

‘What they think is I’ve just got a virus, like head virus or something like that, I’ve got a virus that’s attached itself to my heart that just needed clearing, rebooting and going through the process. 

The England legend had become unwell while flying from watching rugby league in Las Vegas

‘When I get home I’ll have some medical checks and go see the GP and one or two other things, but I feel brilliant in myself and have done since mid-last week to be honest with you. I’m in really good hands, the people in the hospital have been magnificent.’

Pearce was asked whether there were any medically-trained passengers on board that helped, which he ruled out before explaining how he was given oxygen and wired up to a cardiogram, with results wired down to a doctor on the ground.  

Previously, commentator Sam Matterface revealed that he had spoken to Pearce ahead of the early kick-off between Forest and Manchester City, and that he had shared how ‘disappointed’ he was to have missed the fixture between his two former clubs. 

‘He’s in great spirits. He isn’t 100 per cent, that is definitely the case, but he is in the right place, he is in the hospital. They are dealing with it,’ said Matterface.

‘He is a little bit disappointed about not being (at the City Ground). He was most frustrated about that. 

‘He actually said to me, “I have got so much I had to cancel. Some great games and Mumford and Sons are playing on Wednesday night and I can’t go now”’.’

Meanwhile, speaking at full-time following their 1-0 victory, Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo paid tribute to Pearce and passed on his best wishes.

‘Stuart is not just a legend of our club, he is part of our family,’ he said. ‘We all send him our very best wishes and hope he has a full and fast recovery.’

Pearce, who was capped by England 78 times between 1987 and 1999 and played for a number of clubs including Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and Newcastle, was hooked up to a monitor by crew after suffering acute discomfort.

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