England legend Ben Youngs undergoes heart surgery after terrifying collapse in training
BEN YOUNGS underwent heart surgery after a scare at a training session in front of Leicester fans.
But the scrum-half, who won 127 England caps, is hoping to be fit for September’s Premiership kick-off after a two-hour operation in Birmingham.
Youngs has been living with an irregular heartbeat and has suffered several episodes before the latest needed medical intervention.
The 34-year-old has had a monitor fitted in his pec muscle which keeps in touch with the hospital.
He said: “I’m on the mend, I’m recovering. I was doing fitness and basically collapsed.
“I had to stop and lay down as my heart was pounding away and the rain was hitting me in the face.
“I rolled my head to the side and looked at all these admiring fans – 30 of them – that were all packed out in the main stand at Leicester. And I thought: ‘This is it, this is how I’m gonna go.’
“I’ve had it my whole life, unknown to me. I’ve had a couple of episodes throughout my career, but have always been checked up and we get the best medical care. The club have been amazing.
“It is lucky it happened in pre-season so I could get it fixed. My ticker should be all good and it won’t suddenly kick in and go mental.
“I’ll be fine for the start of the season. There’s a 90 per cent success rate, so I should not now suffer.
“It’s been caught now, imagine in 10 years time, you’re just having a kick-around in the family with the kids or the grandkids and something like that happens.
“It’s sort of panic stations, whereas actually, we’re fortunate to be exposed to good medics and it’s been able to be looked at now for a long-term health thing.”