AFC Wimbledon midfielder Sam Hutchinson played a full 90 minutes and scored the winning goal in a crucial League Two match, despite suffering a heart attack just six minutes into the game.
The 35-year-old veteran, whose career began at Chelsea, helped secure his team's play-off position with a 1-0 victory against Grimsby Town on May 2nd. Hutchinson's 53rd-minute goal proved decisive, but his post-match celebration was short-lived.
During the journey home from Blundell Park, Hutchinson's condition deteriorated, revealing the seriousness of his earlier discomfort. Subsequent medical examination confirmed he had suffered a heart attack during the match.
Hutchinson has since undergone surgery to insert a stent into a blocked artery and is now recovering.
“I was experiencing a lot of pain,” Hutchinson recalled. “I got on the coach after the game, the adrenaline wore off and I started having more pains in my chest. From there we made a pit stop in Nottingham.
“We went into the hospital and they essentially told me I’d had a heart attack. I was in there for five days having tests done.
“A branch of an artery was blocked 75 per cent – 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.”#
The Dons made it through to Monday’s play-off final against Walsall, where Hutchinson will take a watching brief.
However, he is already back running and is expecting to resume his career.
“I broke down when they told me in the hospital because playing football is all I ever want to do,” he said. “I didn’t care that I had a heart attack, I’m not really like that.
“It happened in the sixth minute of the game, I carried on and played the full 90. The specialist in London has told me there’s no problem with playing football again, so I’m happy.”
He added: “I ran (on Monday), believe it or not. A lot of people say things slow down but I feel really good. I’m going to crack on and come back bigger and stronger.
“I am absolutely devastated I can’t play on Monday. I genuinely think I could play. It would be dangerous but I could play. I would love to, I’m not going to.”
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