Former Manchester United star Karel Poborsky has revealed he was just "one day away" from death after suffering from a brain infection in 2016.
The Czech, who spent two years at Old Trafford between 1996 and 1998, is still unaware what caused his illness in 2016.
He arrived at the hospital too late for doctors to discover the root cause of the infection, and was instead placed straight into a coma.
But, had it been the following day, Poborsky reckons he would have lost his life.
“If I arrived at the hospital one day later than I did, this interview would not happen," he told The Guardian. "I arrived at the hospital too late to find out the root of the infection; they put me straight into a coma.
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"After I woke up, they asked me what my name was and the seven times table. All of my face muscles were paralysed – it was an infection of the brain.
"I spent three weeks quarantined in hospital on powerful antibiotics, directly to the veins. I couldn’t eat, I had to keep my eyes covered because I was so sensitive to light. I was very scared.”
One theory as to why Poborsky got ill is that a tick, living in his beard, might have bitten him.
Poborsky scored six times in 47 appearances for United, helping them to the Premier League title in the 1996-97 season.
He played 118 times for his country over a 12-year international career.
