Former goalkeeper Shaka Hislop is ‘conscious and talking’ after collapsing live on air while doing punditry before ’s friendly against on Sunday night.
The, 54, was pitch-side at the Rose Bowl in California eloquently discussing new signing before host Dan Thomas then began turning the conversation towards the .
But in scary scenes, Hislop started to stagger around before falling to the ground as Thomas yelled out his name, with production staff quickly running over to help as the host called for medical assistance.
The live feed then cut out and went to a black screen followed by a commercial break with viewers in the dark over what had happened to Hislop, though ESPN have now confirmed that he is okay and talking.
Speaking at half-time, Thomas said: ‘Half-time here at the Rose Bowl it’s AC Milan 2-0 Real Madrid but that is of course very much secondary to what happened ahead of the game.
‘Obviously my mate Shaka is not here but as it stands it’s good news, he’s conscious and he’s talking.
‘I think he’s a little embarrassed about it all, he’s apologised profusely! He’s not a man who likes people to make a fuss of him.
‘Obviously far too early to make any sort of diagnosis but the important thing is that Shaka is conscious and we spoke to his family as well – because can you imagine seeing that happen live, there can’t be many more things that can scare you.
‘Fortunately we spoke to his wife and things are looking okay. Silly Shaka.
‘Thank you for all your love, and as it stands, Shaka looks like he’ll be alright.’
Temperatures pitch-side in California were reported to be about 30C but it is unclear if the heat was a factor in Hislop’s collapse.
The 54-year-old, who was born in Hackney, spent the majority of his career in the Premier League and enjoyed spells with Newcastle, West Ham and Portsmouth. He also won 26 caps for Trinidad and Tobago.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, came from two goals down at half-time to secure a 3-1 victory in the match courtesy of a brace from Federico Valverde and late winner from Vinicius Junior, with England international Bellingham making his debut.
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