Former Manchester United winger Karel Poborsky has revealed he was one day from dying after suffering a brain infection in 2016.
Poborsky, who spent two years at United between 1996 and 1998, has said he still does not know what the cause of the illness was.
The Czech recalled that he was admitted into hospital and was quickly induced into a coma before being told what the problem was. He believes, however, if he waited just one more day then it might have led to his death.
'If I arrived at the hospital one day later than I did, this interview would not happen,' he told The Guardian. 'I arrived at the hospital too late to find out the root of the infection; they put me straight into a coma.
'After I woke up, they asked me what my name was and the seven times table. All of my face muscles were paralysed – it was an infection of the brain.
'I spent three weeks quarantined in hospital on powerful antibiotics, directly to the veins. I couldn't eat, I had to keep my eyes covered because I was so sensitive to light. I was very scared.'
One theory Poborsky offered was that a tick living in his beard might have bitten him to cause Lyme Disease.
He insisted, however, he is now in rude health and has in fact played in a Manchester United legends match against Barcelona back in 2017.