FORMER Liverpool star Fernando Morientes has opened up on a horror health scare that left him hospitalised for days.
The retired forward suffered a pulmonary embolism – a serious condition where a blood clot obstructs an artery in the lungs.
Fernando Morientes has opened up on a horror health scareNews Group Newspapers Ltd
Morientes – now a TV commentator – suffered the frightening ordeal while travelling on a plane.
He told Spanish radio station Tiempo de Juego: “I was feeling ill after so many trips.
“On one of them, my chest started to hurt, a stabbing pain below my sternum.
“I thought it was something stomach-related and didn’t want to go to the hospital.
“But that night I felt something and immediately went to the doctor.
“They started looking at my heart and saw nothing until they found an effusion in the pleura. It was a pulmonary embolism.”
Explaining his blood clot, Morientes said: “It’s a clot that formed in my knee due to the excess air on the plane and in the stationary car.
“My blood began to thicken in the air and rose to my lung. I spent five days in the hospital, almost dying.”
What are the symptoms of a pulmonary embolism?
Symptoms of a pulmonary embolism include:
difficulty breathing that comes on suddenly
chest pain that’s worse when you breathe in
coughing up blood
You may also have pain, redness and swelling in one of your legs (usually the calf).
These are symptoms of a blood clot, also called DVT (deep vein thrombosis).
Source: The NHS
Morientes spent only a season at Liverpool – signing from Real Madrid in 2005 – winning the FA Cup.
In Madrid, the striker won two LaLiga titles and three Champions League trophies.
Morientes joined Valencia after leaving Liverpool and later Marseille for a season before retiring in 2010.
But in 2015 Morientes came out of retirement aged 38 to play for DAV Santa Ana – a non-league side.
Morientes, now 49, briefly managed third-tier Spanish side Fuenlabrada but was sacked after eight months.
The former Spanish international – capped 47 times with 27 goals – now commentates and provides TV punditry.
Getty Images – GettyMorientes is now a TV commentator[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
