The former England defender Stuart Pearce is recovering in a Canadian hospital after suffering a medical emergency on board a flight from the United States.
Commentator Sam Matterface, who Pearce works alongside for radio station TalkSport, has reported the 62-year-old is “in great spirits” after his flight from Las Vegas to Heathrow last weekend was diverted to St John’s in Canada.
Pearce, who had been in the US to attend last Saturday’s Super League match between Wigan and the Warrington team he supports, became unwell on his Virgin Atlantic flight home. After receiving treatment on board, a decision was made for the plane to make an emergency landing.
“I spoke to him yesterday, he’s in great spirits,” said Matterface from the City Ground before Saturday’s game between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, two of Pearce’s former clubs. “He isn’t 100%, that is definitely the case, but he is in the right place, he is in the hospital. They are dealing with it.”
“He is a little bit disappointed about not being here today, he was most frustrated about that,” Matterface added. “He actually said to me, ‘I have got so much I had to cancel. Some great games, and Mumford and Sons are playing on Wednesday night and I can’t go now’. He wasn’t happy about that. He is in good spirits.”
A message was displayed on the big screen at Forest’s home game, reading “Get Well Soon Stuart”. The message appeared after three minutes of the Premier League game, recognising Pearce’s old shirt number.
Pearce made 401 appearances for Nottingham Forest during a 12-year stint as a player. Having started his career at non-league Wealdstone, the left-back also played for Coventry, Newcastle, West Ham and Manchester City, who he later managed.
He also earned 78 caps for England and played in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, in which he missed a penalty in the shoot-out defeat to West Germany. Pearce went on to score in the quarter-final shootout win over Spain at at Euro 96, with his celebration becoming one of the defining images of the tournament.
Pearce also spent six years as manager of England Under-21, serving as caretaker manager of the senior team for one game. He also coached the Great Britain men’s team at the London 2012 Olympics, and had two short stints in charge at Forest. His last job in football was as a part of David Moyes’ coaching staff at West Ham, a role he left in 2022.
On the incident, a statement from Virgin read: “Due to an unwell customer onboard, the VS156 on 2 March flying from Las Vegas to London Heathrow diverted to St John’s International Airport, Canada and was met by the medical services.”
The flight, which was carrying 255 passengers, took off at 8.45pm local time and, following its diversion, arrived in London six hours behind schedule.
