Scott McTominay reveals heart shock two days before Scotland's World Cup opener against Haiti

A heart procedure two days before the opener

Scott McTominay, the 29-year-old Napoli midfielder, told a press conference at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Tuesday, 10 November, that he had undergone an electric cardioversion, a procedure that resets the heartbeat, two days before Scotland's World Cup opener against Haiti on 14 June. At the time the squad said he was absent from training with a stomach bug, and he travelled separately from the team's base in Charlotte to Boston. The Scotsman reports that he was given a police escort to a hospital in Boston, where he was put under anaesthetic. Napoli had described the condition as a mild benign arrhythmia, while The Scotsman identified it as atrial fibrillation. The true reason only became public on Tuesday, more than four months after the Haiti match.

Playing through the tournament

McTominay played all three of Scotland's group matches: a 1-0 win over Haiti, then defeats by Morocco and Brazil that ended the team's campaign at the group stage. He said the medical team had assured him it was safe to play, and that he had chosen to go ahead. He came close to scoring against Haiti, with a shot hitting the post in the first half, shortly before John McGinn scored the winning deflected effort. The Scotsman reports that some observers rated him among the tournament's biggest flops, and McTominay said he had not known what people were saying about him. He described the episode in these words:

“It was far from ideal but those are the cards that you're dealt, there's nothing you can do about it.”

Recovery and return

Napoli announced on 1 September that he would undergo a procedure for a mild benign arrhythmia, and the ablation, a minimally invasive operation, was carried out in Manchester. He missed three Serie A matches and four Nations League games under the new head coach Sébastien Pocognoli. Fanpage reports that in the Scotland camp he said he had felt deeply disappointed for two or three weeks after the tournament and was not mentally fully present. His first official match after the operation was against Frosinone on 10 October. He said he now feels much better:

“I'm feeling much, much better than what I was. I feel like it was something that needed to be done.”

Back with Scotland

Scotland host North Macedonia on Friday, 13 November, and face Switzerland on Monday, 16 November, both in the Nations League. McTominay has been recalled after missing the last international window. He praised the doctors at Napoli, his cardiologist in Manchester and the Scotland medical staff, saying they had explained the procedure well. He described it as a relatively straightforward operation that went really well, and said playing football again matters most to him.