McTominay reveals he underwent heart shock procedure during World Cup with Scotland
PORTO, PORTUGAL - NOVEMBER 04: Scott McTominay of SSC Napoli celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2026/27 League Phase MD4 match between FC Porto and SSC Napoli at Estadio do Dragao on November 04, 2026 in Porto, Portugal. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)
Napoli midfielder Scott McTominay has revealed the cardiac problems that prompted his surgery started playing for Scotland at the 2026 World Cup. ‘I got the shock on my heart two days before the Haiti game.’
The 29-year-old was diagnosed with a mild, benign arrhythmia and removed from the Napoli squad after the first two Serie A rounds of the season, on September 1.
He visited a specialist in Manchester and had the surgery on September 8, a corrective procedure using pulsed-field ablation (PFA), returning to the field on October 10.
McTominay heart problems started in summer
However, he has now revealed that the arrhythmia first made itself known during Scotland’s World Cup campaign several months ago.
The irregular heartbeat was detected during a training session, and he was placed under general anaesthetic to undergo a cardioversion.
This is a mild electrical shock to effectively reset the heart rhythm, and it took place just before the opening match on June 14.
“I had to go and get the shock on my heart two days before the Haiti game,” confessed McTominay in a press conference for Scotland’s Nations League match with North Macedonia.
“I was 100 per cent, but obviously when you’re sat in a hospital bed two days before the first game of the World Cup about to get put to sleep, it’s not ideal, is it?”
His heart had returned to a normal rhythm after the shock treatment, but the irregularities resumed when playing for Napoli in August.
“You’ve prepared so well, I was in such good condition and then something like that happens and you’re thinking, ‘How is this happening to me?’
“It’s nowhere near an excuse, but it’s something that you have to look back on and say, well, it’s part of the process,” added McTominay.
“Obviously, with the way the World Cup went, it was at least two, three weeks of me sitting there disappointed, not quite with it mentally. I needed time to settle down and have a break.”
McTominay has been nowhere near his usual self for Scotland or Italy since then, and the team exited the World Cup in the opening round after three games.
However, he is finding his feet again, scoring five goals in the last six competitive games for Napoli.
“After the World Cup, it was probably the most disappointed I’ve ever been in my career. I’m always one for a glass half full, but that one took a good couple of weeks to get out of my system.”
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.