Former French international star David Ginola was described as “awake and improving” after undergoing a quadruple heart bypass on Friday, Professor Gilles Dreyfus, who carried out the operation, told AFP.
The 49-year-old ex-PSG and Newcastle star suffered a suspected heart attack on Thursday while playing football before a celebrity golf tournament in the afternoon heat at Mandelieu, west of Cannes in southern France, and was airlifted to hospital in Monaco.
“He's getting better. He's awake and conscious. He didn't have a heart attack. He had a heart rhythm disorder,” explained Dreyfus.
He said Ginola “had recovered completely and is expected to remain in hospital for 10 days”, adding the former player could “resume his activities in several weeks”.
The surgeon added that Ginola had been “very lucky” with the quick intervention of emergency services.
“After a scan it was decided to operate urgently and have an emergency quadruple bypass.”
A tweet on Ginola's Twitter account Friday moved to reassure his fans.
“Hello world, never slept better. I'm fine, just need to rest a bit. Thank you so much all of you for your magnificent support,” he wrote.
Ginola fell ill and was taken to Monaco's Princess Grace Hospital, where his condition was initially described as “unconscious but stable”.
The former player blamed playing football in the afternoon heat.
“Footy match in the midday sun, not very clever. Now having some tests done. Who ever voted for a World Cup in Qatar in the summer?” Ginola tweeted
The news prompted an outpouring of support on social media, with a post on Newcastle's official Twitter account reading “Get well soon”.
After leaving France for England in 1995 and spending two years in the northeast, Ginola played at Tottenham for three seasons where he was voted PFA Player of the Year and Footballer of the Year in 1999.
He then turned out for Aston Villa and Everton briefly before retiring in 2002.
He also played 17 times for his country between 1990 and 1995, but his international career was overshadowed by a 2-1 defeat to Bulgaria which saw France fail to reach the 1994 World Cup, with Ginola singled out for criticism by then-coach Gerard Houllier.
Since his playing days, Ginola has turned his hand to presenting and working as a television pundit in both England and his native France.
He is due to work as a television pundit for the Euro 2016 championships in France. – AFP