Alan Brazil reveals his heart stopped during life-saving liver transplant

Alan Brazil has disclosed that his heart stopped during a liver transplant he underwent roughly five weeks ago, telling former colleagues Ally McCoist and Gabby Agbonlahor on Thursday that he considers himself “very, very lucky to be here.”

The former Ipswich Town and Manchester United forward, who has been absent from his talkSPORT presenting duties since the operation, described how events moved rapidly on the day of surgery. He had finished his morning show at 9:45am when Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge called and told him to come in immediately. By 2:30 that afternoon he was in the operating theatre, where surgeons worked on him for approximately eight hours.

“They transplanted my liver. My heart did stop for a bit and it came back on its own,” Brazil said. “I’ll be frank, I’m very, very lucky to be here.”

Brazil explained that he had been reluctant to go ahead with the transplant but was persuaded by his wife Jill and his children. “They said, ‘we’ll have a go at this or you’ll be in trouble’,” he recalled.

His recovery is ongoing. Brazil said he is sleeping poorly and managing a recurring fluid build-up, though his medical team has told him it is not a cause for concern at this stage. He is attending appointments at both Ipswich Hospital and Addenbrooke’s and is taking a significant course of medication.

“I’m feeling really, really good, but I can’t sleep, and I’ve got a problem at the moment with fluid,” he said. “They’re not worried — just saying, look, it’s early days. It’s been five-and-a-half weeks since they opened me up.”

Brazil said he hopes to return to work within two or three weeks and credited sport — and the prospect of correcting Agbonlahor on air — as motivation to recover. He also referenced the recent cancer diagnoses made public by Kenny Dalglish, Kevin Keegan, and John Barnes, expressing gratitude that his own outcome had been more fortunate.

“The guys at Addenbrooke’s Hospital have saved my life,” he said. “I am on the mend. Still not there, but I am getting there.”