Former Reading FC player Sam Hutchinson suffered a heart attack during a game for AFC Wimbledon earlier this season.
Remarkably, Hutchinson played the remainder of the match and actually went on to score the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Grimsby earlier this month.
AFC Wimbledon went on to gain promotion by winning at Wembley in the League Two play-off final as they defeated Walsall 1-0.
However, the Dons informed their fans that the 35-year-old had a successful surgery after he suffered with heart complications during the match.
Speaking to AFC Wimbledon’s club website, he said: “I felt rubbish during the game for some reason. I had a tight chest and wanted to come off after six minutes but I just battled on through like an old warhorse.
“We got back on the coach afterwards and I started to get more chest pains as the adrenaline wore off.
“We ended up stopping in Nottingham on our way back and they essentially told me I’d had a heart attack.
“I was in there (hospital) for five days. I was like a pin cushion by the end of it, after getting lots of tests done. A branch of an artery was blocked 75%.
“I had an angiogram and had a stent put in by a specialist in London who was unbelievable. I’m on the road to recovery now.”
Hutchinson spent two seasons with Reading from 2022-24 and played 23 league matches having suffered with various injuries throughout his time in Berkshire.
He continued: “When they told me I’d had a heart attack, I broke down.
“Only because I wanted to still play football, I didn’t want that to be the end and I didn’t really care that I’d had a heart attack.
“I just wanted to still play and thankfully the specialist told me that I’d have no problems playing again.
“I just now see it as another injury, another hurdle to overcome.”
