Scott McTominay has revealed that he underwent a heart procedure, known as a cardiac ablation, just two days before Scotland’s World Cup opener against Haiti this summer. The Napoli midfielder had the operation in Manchester in September to treat a mild, benign heart arrhythmia.
The arrhythmia first came to light after the Scots arrived in the United States in early June, and it continued to trouble him in August while he was back in Italy playing for his club. At the time, the Scotland camp said the 29-year-old had missed training in the lead-up to the tournament because of a stomach complaint.
Speaking at a news conference at Hampden on Tuesday, the former Manchester United player was candid about what had happened. “I had to go and get the shock on my heart two days before the Haiti game,” he said.
McTominay played all three of Scotland’s matches at the World Cup but struggled to reach his usual level as his team exited at the group stage. Scotland beat Haiti in their opening game, but defeats to Morocco and Brazil meant they extended their record of never having progressed beyond the group stage.
“I was 100% [fit], but obviously when you’re sat in a hospital bed two days before the first game of the World Cup about to get put to sleep, it’s not ideal, is it?” he said. “You’ve prepared so well, I was in such good condition and then something like that happens and you’re thinking, ‘How is this happening to me?’
“It’s nowhere near an excuse, but it’s something that you have to look back on and say, ‘Well, it’s part of the process.'”
Disappointment and recovery
McTominay admitted that the tournament left a lasting mark on him. “Obviously with the way the World Cup went, it was at least two, three weeks of me sitting there disappointed, not quite with it mentally,” he said. “I needed time to settle down and have a break.
“After the World Cup, it was probably the most disappointed I’ve ever been in my career. I’m always one for a glass half full, but that one took a good couple of weeks to get out of my system.”
McTominay returned to action with Napoli at the start of this season, but after featuring in their first two Serie A matches, he decided surgery was the only option. He spent all of September on the sidelines after undergoing the corrective procedure.
That meant he missed Scotland’s first four matches under new boss Sebastien Pocognoli. He is now back in the squad for this month’s Nations League double-header against Macedonia and Switzerland, having played in all nine of his club’s matches since the last international break.
“I’m good. I’m feeling much, much better than what I was,” he said. “I feel like it was something that needed to be done. In your career you have moments like that where things like that can take you a bit by surprise.
“Obviously, it looks a lot worse to people in the media and family and friends who reach out to you after they’ve seen news relating to a heart issue, but it was a relatively straightforward procedure which went really, really well in Manchester.
“I’m just really happy to be back playing football again. That’s the most important thing in my life and it always will be.”