McTominay reveals heart procedure two days before Scotland's World Cup opener against Haiti

Scott McTominay played in all three of Scotland’s World Cup group-stage matches having had his heart “shocked” just two days before the opening fixture against Haiti, the Napoli midfielder revealed at a press conference at Hampden on Tuesday.

McTominay, 29, underwent a cardiac ablation procedure in Manchester in September to treat a mild, benign arrhythmia — a condition that first emerged after Scotland’s arrival in the United States in early June and resurfaced in August while he was playing club football in Italy. During the tournament, the Scotland camp kept the issue private, publicly attributing his absences from pre-World Cup training to a stomach complaint.

“I had to go and get the shock on my heart two days before the Haiti game,” McTominay said. “You’ve prepared so well, I was in such good condition and then something like that happens and you’re thinking, ‘How is this happening to me?’ I was 100 per cent fit, but obviously when you’re sat in a hospital bed two days before the first game of the World Cup about to get put to sleep, it’s not ideal, is it?”

Despite playing every minute of Scotland’s three matches, the former Manchester United midfielder struggled to reach his best form as his country exited at the group stage. He acknowledged the mental toll the experience took on him in the weeks that followed.

“It’s nowhere near an excuse, but it’s something that you have to look back on and say, ‘Well, it’s part of the process’,” he said. “After the World Cup, it was probably the most disappointed I’ve ever been in my career. That one took a good couple of weeks to get out of my system.”

After returning to Napoli at the start of this season, McTominay played their first two Serie A matches before concluding that surgery was the only lasting solution. He spent the entirety of September on the sidelines following the corrective procedure, missing Scotland’s first four matches under new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli.

He has since returned to full fitness, featuring in all nine of Napoli’s matches since the last international break, and is now back in the Scotland squad for this month’s Nations League double-header against Macedonia and Switzerland.

“I’m good. I’m feeling much, much better than what I was,” McTominay said. “I feel like it was something that needed to be done.”