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Former Manchester United goalkeeper Marcus Bosnich has revealed that healing the relationship with his friend Robbie Slater could well have saved his life.
It was reported last week that the former Aston Villa keeper was rushed to hospital and could not perform his punditry duties for Australian television’s coverage of the Champions League ties on Wednesday night.
The severity of the incident later emerged as his fellow pundit, Craig Foster posted on X, “On air this morning for PSG v Sociedad without our mate. He had a big scare yesterday with heart pain and needed surgery.”
According to News Corp (via The Daily Mail), Bosnich credits his friend and former Premier League winner at Blackburn, Robbie Slater, for giving him crucial advice.
Bosnich had started to get chest pains the previous week and after completing a routine workout, had grown concerned by unusual irritations below his throat.
After visiting the hospital, the former United number one was told he had a 70 per cent blockage in an artery in his heart and had to have a stent installed.
Speaking to News Corp on his medical issues he claimed, “Without a check-up, I was a ticking time bomb. If I hadn’t had the tests, over the next 12 to 18 months I would have had a heartbreak, very much so.”
“If I didn’t get it checked it could have been serious. It was certainly a wake-up call, especially when you’re over 50. I am so grateful to Robbie, mum and Max.”
Slater, who played in England for four years, stated that once hearing Bosnich tell him about the problems, he instructed his friend to get right off the phone and get his heart checked.
Speaking on the incident he stated, “I told him not to muck around, just go and get an angiogram. He said, ‘You’re right, I’m going’.”
“He likened it to a ticking time bomb. The great story here is that he went and got checked out. A lot of men wouldn’t.”
The two fell out in 2022 but luckily for the former United academy player, they have patched up their relationship and speak every day now.
The Stan Sports pundit was able to return to work last Friday and everyone in the footballing world will be hoping that his health scares are behind him for the foreseeable future.