Frank Bruno has been hospitalised after falling severely ill on a long-haul flight.
The boxing legend, 63, felt feverish and was taken for treatment after landing for a stopover in Doha, Qatar, on a trip from Heathrow to Thailand on March 3.
Father-of-four Bruno was seen smiling in a photograph posted shortly after boarding his flight before he “quickly went downhill”.
He wrote: “Morning so the Frank Bruno World tour continues. Up early for a plane, I don’t sleep well on planes but trying to catch up on some zzzzzzzzzzzs.”
Doctors eventually diagnosed him with a viral infection and kept him in for nearly two weeks, taking his passport so he could not try to leave.
The former WBC heavyweight champion had been due to take part in four audiences with fans in Pattaya, Bangkok, Hua Hin and Koh Phangan.
Speaking about Bruno’s stay in hospital, his manager told The Sun that the boxer is hoping to return to work “as soon as possible”.
A source added: “It was extremely worrying as it was mid-flight so he was stuck on the plane.
“Paul [Hunter, his personal assistant] and Frank thought it might be food poisoning but it turned out to be worse than that. Frank was in a bad way and was sweating profusely and had fever-like symptoms.
“Doctors were really worried and carried out all sorts of tests, including for meningitis. They then diagnosed him with a viral infection, which at least meant they could start treating him.
“They feared Frank might think he was better before he was and try to discharge himself. But Frank was too ill to leave anyway, as he battled the infection.
“In typical Frank fashion, he was more worried about supposedly letting his fans down.”
