Sports · McTominay’s returnMcTominay heart procedure: Heart shocked two days before Scotland’s World Cup openerWritten November 11, 2026 at 6:00 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:00McTominay Heart procedure, heart shocked two days before Scotland's World Cup0:04opener.0:06Scott McTominay had his heart shocked two days before his World Cup opener.0:10He still played in all three Scotland matches, then needed another procedure after0:14returning to club football.0:16He's now back with the national squad.0:18What happened between that hospital visit and his return to Scotland duty?0:21Scotland's camp had blamed a stomach complaint for his mistraining before the0:25tournament at Hampton on November10 th.0:27The twenty-nine-year-old Napoli midfielder explained that he'd needed hospital0:31treatment for a heart rhythm problem.0:32The problem first appeared after Scotland arrived in the United States in early0:36June.0:36McTominay said he'd prepared well and felt in very good condition.0:40Then, immediately before the opening game against Haiti, he found himself in a0:44hospital bed, about to be put to sleep.0:46McTominay said he considered himself fully fit to play, but he described the strain0:50of needing treatment so close to the tournament.0:52In his words, You've prepared so well, and then you are thinking, How is this0:56happening to me?0:57His later treatment was for a mild benign arrhythmia.1:00That's a problem with the heart's rhythm.1:01The shock before Haiti and the ablation he later underwent were separate treatments1:05with different purposes.1:06Doctors can use an electrical shock to restore a regular heartbeat.1:09Catheter ablation treats areas involved in abnormal electrical signals using thin,1:14flexible tubes passed into the heart.1:16Those are general descriptions of the treatments used for heart rhythm problems.1:20Scotland went out at the World Cup's group stage, and McTominay struggled to produce1:24his best football.1:25He rejected using the treatment as an excuse.1:27He called it part of the process when looking back at what happened around the1:30tournament.1:31McTominay spent two or three weeks feeling disappointed and, as he put it, not quite1:36with it mentally.1:37He said he needed a break in time to settle down.1:39His disappointment after the World Cup took weeks to ease.1:42His heart rhythm trouble returned in August after he went back to Italy.1:46He resumed playing for Napoli and appeared in their first two Serie A matches of the1:49season.1:50He then decided he needed a corrective procedure.1:52The first treatment came two days before Haiti.1:55Further trouble followed in August, and McTominay underwent an ablation in1:59Manchester in September.2:00He spent that month on the sidelines, interrupting his return to club football and2:04keeping him away from Scotland.2:05He missed Scotland's first four matches under new head coach S Bastian Pocognoli.2:09The absence stretched across the national team's September and October games.2:13Now, his assessment of how he feels is much more positive.2:16MacTominay said the procedure in Manchester was relatively straightforward and went2:20really, really well.2:21He said it was something he needed to have done, even though needing heart treatment2:25had taken him by surprise.2:26He also described family and friends reaching out after hearing about his heart2:29issue.2:30His own message was reassuring.2:31I am good, he said.2:33I am feeling much, much better than what I was.2:35That improvement has been followed by regular appearances for Napoli.2:38McTominay has featured in all nine Napoli matches since the previous international2:42break.2:42Those appearances have brought him back into Scotland squad.2:45The National Association has confirmed his return for the Nations League matches2:49against North Macedonia and Switzerland.2:51He's back playing after the September procedure and says he feels substantially2:54better.2:54I am just really happy to be back playing football again, he said.2:58Scotland's next fixture is at home against North Macedonia on November thirteenth.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
