Alan Brazil 'very very lucky to still be here' after heart stopped during liver transplant

Alan Brazil checked in with his talkSPORT colleagues to provide an update
talkSPORT presenter Alan Brazil has been off the air while he recuperates from surgery (Image credit: Getty Images)

talkSPORT host Alan Brazil says he is 'very, very lucky' to still be alive after his heart stopped during his liver transplant.

The former Ipswich Town and Manchester United forward has been absent from the airwaves since having the operation a couple of months ago.

Brazil checked in with his colleagues Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor on Thursday morning to discuss his surgery and his ongoing recovery, saying he hopes to be able to return to work in the coming weeks.

Alan Brazil's heart stopped during life-saving liver transplant

Alan Brazil recently had a liver transplant

Alan Brazil says he is lucky to be alive (Image credit: Getty Images)

Brazil said: "On the Wednesday morning I was working on talkSPORT. I’d had ongoing trials and seen so many specialists and they decided I needed a transplant.

"I didn’t want to do it, but my kids and [my wife] Jill said you have to do it, you are doing it. They said, 'we’ll have a go at this or you’ll be in trouble'.

Alan Brazil in action for Ipswich

Alan Brazil was part of Ipswich's UEFA Cup winning side in 1981 (Image credit: Getty Images)

"I finished at 9:45, and at 10 I had to phone Addensbrooke Hospital. They said, 'get in right now'.

"At 2.30 that afternoon I was on the slab and they opened me up. I was under for something like eight hours.

“They transplanted my liver. My heart did stop for a bit and it came back on its own.

"I’ll be frank, I’m very very lucky to be here.”

Alan Brazil lines up with his Scotland teammates in 1983

Alan Brazil will be cheering on Scotland this summer (Image credit: Getty Images)

“I'm feeling really, really good, but I can't sleep, and I've got a problem at the moment with fluid. The fluid keeps coming back, and they're not worried. Just saying, look, it's early days.

"It's been five-and-a-half weeks since they opened me up and they're saying, look, we'll get to the bottom of it. Don't worry.

"I'm taking loads of meds, and I'm having seen, I've got loads of appointments at Ipswich Hospital and in Cambridge.

"So I've just got to be a good boy, take my pills, rest up, and go and see these people, and hopefully I'll get back to 100%."

Kenny Dalglish in his second spell as Liverpool boss

Kenny Dalglish recently announced he has been diagnosed with cancer (Image credit: Getty Images)

"I am still here, gradually every day improving, and looking forward to getting back. It is going to be a few more weeks, but hopefully, just two or three and get back.

"There has been loads of sport on that has really kept me going, and it has been a funny few months - it really has.

"There is a lot of rubbish going at the moment with Kenny [Dalglish] and Kevin Keegan, John Barnes (who have all recently spoken of their cancer diagnoses) - every day you read something different.

"I copped it, but thank god, luckily, the guys at Addenbrooke's Hospital have saved my life. I am on the mend. Still not there, but I am getting there.

"Incentives to get back include Gabby talking tosh, and I can still do this! Gabby, I am only kidding, and the sport has really kept me going, to be honest."

Steven Chicken

Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.

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