‘I thought I was minutes away from lights out' – Rio Ferdinand breaks silence on horror bug that put him in hospital
RIO FERDINAND has opened up about the health issue that left him hospitalised last week, revealing he thought he was close to "lights out".
The former Manchester United defender spent days in hospital and was forced to miss his punditry duties with TNT Sports.
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Ferdinand, 46, was set to provide analysis of Arsenal 's visit to Paris Saint-Germain before acting as co-commentator as United reached the Europa League final.
Instead he was forced to watch on from a hospital bed and updated fans on his condition by sharing a photo of himself with his thumbs up.
That was the aftermath of a serious ordeal for the former England defender, who had been suffering from a horrific stomach bug.
The "crazy" illness left Ferdinand vomiting while he also experienced migraines and vertigo, making him feel like the "lights were out".
He said on his show, Rio Ferdinand Presents: "I had a mad virus. I thought lights were out at some point, I thought it was gonna happen. I thought I was minutes away from lights out, seriously.
"I was in my house, I was in my bed like this [pained expression] and I couldn't even open my eyes.
"Then, the headache I had… I don't get migraines or nothing else so I don't know what they're like. I thought my head was in a vice and my eyes were going to pop out.
"Then, I was being sick, projectile vomiting in the toilet, I got back to bed and I was having vertigo. I was holding onto the sheets, I didn't know where I was. It was crazy."
Ferdinand also revealed he went into a state of panic after doctors told him he would need a brain scan.
He was even offered an ambulance, making the ex-England star even more nervous.
Rio Ferdinand calls out Roy Keane and Gary Neville's takes on Man Utd vs Man City
Ferdinand continued: "I had to go to hospital and the doctor even said to me, "Do you want an ambulance"? So that's when I knew.
"He went, 'We're going to get your brain scanned'. I thought it was a virus or a flu or something so when he mentioned brain scan and the ambulance, the panic was nuts.
"I went to hospital and I was in there for a few days. I couldn't even enjoy the hospital food. The soup and the ice cream normally does wonders."
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