Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand revealed that he suffered a massive health scare this past week, hence why he had been off the radar.
Usually a regular pundit and commentator for Man United matches, Ferdinand revealed that he would miss out on the UEFA Europa League semi-finals between United and Athletic Club, posting a picture of himself in a hospital bed.
Gutted to be missing the Semi-Finals this week on @footballontnt!!
Wishing the team all the best — I’ll be watching every minute from the iPad! 🤝🏽❤️ pic.twitter.com/meODe2p88Y— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) May 7, 2025
“Gutted to be missing the Semi-Finals this week on @footballontnt!! Wishing the team all the best — I’ll be watching every minute from the iPad!” he wrote on X.
Yesterday, on his Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the retired United icon revealed just how serious his health scare truly was.
“My wife, the women in my family will never know man flu. What it’s really about,” Ferdinand started. But while he initially seemed to be making light of the event, he soon revealed just how serious the issue truly was.
While his co-host assumed he had back pain, Ferdinand responded, “I had a mad virus, bro. I thought lights were out at some point, I thought it was gonna happen. I thought I was minutes away from lights out, seriously. Bro, I was in my house, I was in my bed like this, and I couldn’t even open my eyes.”
He then spoke of the aching headache he suffered from at that moment, explaining, “I thought my head was in a vice, my eyes were gonna pop out.” Sadly, that wasn’t the end of his pain.
“Then I was being sick, yeah, projectile vomiting. I got back to bed, I was having vertigo,” He revealed, then explained that he went to the hospital.
“The doctor even said to me, ‘Do you want an ambulance because we want to get your brain scanned?’” Ferdinand explained, with the studio falling silent in response.
“I thought it was a virus or a flu or something, so when he mentioned a brain scan and the ambulance, the panic was nuts,” Ferdinand continued. “I went to the hospital and I was in there for a few days. I couldn’t even enjoy the hospital food. The soup and the ice cream normally does wonders.”
Fortunately, Ferdinand appears to be on his way back to full health, marking his return to his show.
Hopefully, United can provide him with a happy return to broadcasting with victory in the UEFA Europa League final on May 21, thereby salvaging what has been a disastrous season.
Featured image Gareth Copley via Getty Images
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Mathew Cohen
A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.
