SCOTT McTOMINAY has revealed he had his heart ‘shocked’ just 48 hours before Scotland’s World Cup opener against Haiti.
The Tartan Army hero and Napoli midfielder recently underwent a procedure to correct an irregular heart rhythm, which forced him out of Sebastien Pocognoli’s first camp.
Now the 29-year-old has opened up on how he was put to sleep for treatment just two days before that crunch clash in Boston — before being given the all-clear to play by doctors.
Speaking on his return to the national squad, McTominay revealed: “The World Cup, it was difficult for me to be honest.
“It finishes and obviously I had to go and get the shock on my heart, and then two days before the Haiti game – you have prepared so well, I was in such good condition and then something like that happens and you are thinking ‘how has this happened?’
“But, you have to get on with it. That is the thing in football, sometimes things don’t go your way. You have to do your best.
“It’s nowhere near an excuse but it’s something you have to look back on and say ‘it’s part of the process’. Obviously the way the World Cup went it was at least two or three weeks of me sitting there disappointed, not quite with it mentally and I needed time to settle down.”
McTominay played the full 90 minutes against Haiti as Scotland kicked off with a 1-0 win thanks to John McGinn’s first-half strike.
The ex-Manchester United ace then completed both matches against Morocco and Brazil, despite undergoing the procedure just two days before the tournament got underway.
And McTominay admits the heartbreak of crashing out at the group stage was the most disappointing moment of his career.
He continued: “Whenever you’re sat on a hospital bed, two days before the first game at a World Cup and about to get put to sleep – it’s not ideal. Whenever things like that happen, you have to deal with it.
“After the World Cup I reflected on it and I was disappointed, probably the most disappointed I have ever been in my career to be honest.
“After the World Cup my summer holidays, they were not heavily centred around thinking about the World Cup – but it plays a part, you know.
“You are just sitting there thinking ‘we could have done more, man’, but that three week break that I had with my operation helped.
“I don’t really look back. I am always one for glass half full. But after the World Cup it was a tough one to take.
“It’s not really my style to dwell on things, but that one took a good couple of weeks to get out my system. But you have to refresh.” – Sun
