Arsenal hero Kevin Campbell ‘misplaced over 10st in 4 months’ as explanation for dying given

An inquest into the death of former Premier League striker Kevin Campbell heard how the former Arsenal icon was ‘desperately unwell’ when he was admitted to Manchester Royal Infirmary

An inquest into the death of former Premier League footballer Kevin Campbell has heard that there was a delay in diagnosing the heart infection which led to his death.

Former Arsenal and Everton striker Campbell died in June 2024 at the age of 54 after he was admitted to Manchester Royal Infirmary.

The court heard today (April 14) that the 54-year-old was ‘desperately unwell’ when he was first admitted to MRI in January of that year. He had been experiencing lethargy, tiredness and breathlessness. The coroner concluded that the delay did not significantly contribute to his death.

Tests revealed he had suffered a stroke and also had heart failure, chronic kidney disease and an acute liver injury. He was admitted to intensive care where he received dialysis and antibiotics. After more than two weeks in hospital, his condition improved enough for him to be discharged.

However, it remained unclear exactly what had caused Campbell’s illness. Dr Robert Henney, a consultant physician at MRI, told the inquest that Campbell was ‘desperately unwell’ when he was admitted to hospital and it was probably only due to his ‘physical fitness’ that he survived to that point.

Campbell, who also played for Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion and Trabzonspor in Turkey, then suffered a second stroke, lost a significant amount of weight and his health deteriorated dramatically.

On May 17 last year, he was re-admitted to MRI and five days later a consultant informed his family they didn’t think he would survive.

Campbell, who won the First Division, FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup during his time at Arsenal, was battling ‘multi systemic infection’ and sepsis. His toes had turned gangrenous and he developed pneumonia while in hospital.

During his hospitalisation, Campbell’s weight dropped from 124kg to 98kg, and further plummeted to a 59kg when he was readmitted two months later on May 17. By May 22, he was under palliative care.

However, after Dr Henney found him ‘awake, alert, conscious’ on June 4, the decision was made to resume treatment. Dr Henney expressed: “I didn’t understand why a 54-year-old man as previously fit as he was was dying and I wanted to fully investigate it. I didn’t think there had been an explanation for what had changed, how he could go from being someone who was expected to continue getting better.”

The inquest revealed that Campbell was suffering from a ‘rare’ heart infection known as infective endocarditis. Dr Henney described the ex-footballer as ‘desperately unlucky’, having endured ‘two completely separate and unrelated insults to his heart in a short space of time’.

He was transferred to a high dependency unit and passed away at 5.30am on June 15. The cause of death was recorded as multi-organ failure due to infective endocarditis and hospital-acquired pneumonia.

The inquest revealed that the MRI initially classified the incident following Campbell’s passing as a Level 5 patient safety event, indicating utmost severity. This assessment was later adjusted to a Level 2 following an in-depth mortality review.

An internal probe by the hospital identified delays in diagnosing Campbell’s infective endocarditis, which he is thought to have contracted through cuts on his feet.

Dr Henney, testifying at the inquest and questioned by area coroner Zak Golembeck about whether these delays significantly contributed to Campbell’s demise, stated: “I don’t think his treatment would have been substantially different.” Dr Henney added: “What he needed was surgery, but he was far too unwell. I think unfortunately there was nothing else we could have done.”

No family members were present at Manchester Coroner’s Court but Campbell’s brother, Harold, and sister, Lorna, followed the proceedings remotely.

Harold Campbell told the hearing that his brother was the family “superstar”. He said: “Kevin was very loved as a football professional, in the media and especially by the fans of the clubs he played for. He was very, very loved by everyone.

“From a family point of view, he was our superstar from his start in football at 13 years old. Everyone loved him, not only as a professional footballer but as a normal person. His football career was successful but after his retirement, I think everyone sort of got more in tune with his personality – a normal person and he was very, very loved.”