Stuart Pearce health update after England icon taken ill on flight and plane diverted

England legend Stuart Pearce was taken ill on a flight home from Las Vegas where he had been watching Warrington Wolves take on Wigan Warriors in Super League

Stuart Pearce has been discharged from hospital after his terrifying health scare at 30,000 feet.

The England legend was taken ill on a flight home from Las Vegas where he had been watching his favourite rugby league team, Warrington Wolves, take on Wigan Warriors. The plane was diverted and there were fears for Pearce’s welfare.

But after an eight-day stint recovering in hospital in Canada, he was discharged by doctors on Sunday. Pearce, 62, began sweating and had acute pain on Virgin Atlantic flight VS156 to Heathrow.

He was treated by first aiders before the decision to divert the plane to St John’s on Newfoundland where he was helped off the aircraft. Pearce has received 24/7 care in the days since and is now planning his route home.

Fans stood and applauded on the third minute as two of Pearce’s former clubs, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, met in the Premier League on Saturday.

TalkSPORT colleague Sam Matterface told listeners: “I spoke to him yesterday and he was in great spirits. He isn’t 100 per cent — that is definitely the case. But he’s in the right place in the hospital.”

Pearce was a fans’ favourite as a player, his no-nonsense style earning him the nickname ‘Psycho’. He played for Wealdstone and Coventry before 12 seasons at Forest which saw him pull on the shirt 522 times.

He then moved to Newcastle before spells with West Ham and Man City. Pearce also played 78 times for England and has managed Forest and City since hanging up his boots.

He enjoyed a 12-year career with the Three Lions, making his debut against Brazil at the age of 25 in a 1-1 draw at Wembley in 1987.

Injury prevented him playing in the 1988 European Championship, before Pearce was a key man for Sir Bobby Robson’s side at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, as they reached the semi-finals. There, in a penalty shootout against West Germany, Pearce saw his shot saved and left the field in tears as England were defeated.

Six years later, at Euro ’96, Pearce went some way towards redemption when in a quarter-final shootout against Spain he blasted home to help the side into another semi-final. His impassioned reaction, celebrating in front of the packed Wembley crowd, was one of the images of that, or any other, major tournament involving the Three Lions.

Last weekend’s Super League encounter, played at Allegiant Stadium – home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders – saw the Warriors claim a huge 48-24 victory. It drew a crowd of over 45,000 and saw bumper viewing figures back in the UK, peaking at 340k. Only one Super League regular season game has attracted a bigger number of TV viewers in the competition’s 30-year history.

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