Michael Owen opens up on Sir Alex Ferguson chat hours earlier than he was taken sick
Michael Owen has opened up on his chat with Sir Alex Ferguson just hours before the legendary Manchester United manager was taken to hospital
Michael Owen revealed the chat he had with Sir Alex Ferguson before his health scare
Michael Owen has opened up on his chat with Sir Alex Ferguson just hours before the legendary Manchester United manager was taken to hospital.
Ferguson was set to watch his former club take on fierce rivals Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday. The 84-year-old Scot arrived at Old Trafford but he was taken unwell before kick-off and rushed to hospital as a precautionary measure – missing Kobbie Mainoo’s late winner to secure United a return to the Champions League in a 3-2 victory.
There has been no update on Ferguson’s condition, but it was reported that he is recovering and will hopefully return home soon. Ferguson’s trip to hospital came as a shock to Owen, who was signed by the Scot in 2009 and went on to lift the only Premier League title of his career with United.
JOIN US ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page
Owen revealed that Ferguson was in good form as they had a conversation about horse racing before he headed to Old Trafford. He told talkSPORT: “I spoke to him, I was on the phone to him for forty minutes that morning.
“We’re talking about football. We’re talking about horses. As I say, he’s got horses here [at his Manor House Stables].
“Most Saturday mornings, he gives me a call, and we go through all the horses for the day, and we share what we know and things like that. We might have actually, we might have his horse running on Friday at Chester.
“So yeah, I speak to him regularly, and he sounded absolutely brilliant, sharp as a tack as normal.
“We were talking a lot about Scottish football and what was happening up there. So it was such a shock to hear, obviously, that the next day he was taken unwell, but hopefully it’s not too serious.”
Since bowing out in 2013 with a 13th Premier League title, Ferguson has remained a regular in the director’s box at Old Trafford. However, his condition was a cause for concern on Sunday, with United boss Michael Carrick admitting he had been “very affected” by Fergie’s scare.
It’s not the first health scare that Ferguson has suffered after he was hospitalised with a brain haemorrhage in 2018. He recovered after undergoing successful surgery. It’s reported the two incidents are not related.
Ferguson opened up about the scare in the 2021 film: ‘Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In’, he said: “There were five brain haemorrhages that day. Three died. Two survived. You know you are lucky.”
Three years ago, Ferguson lost his wife of 57 years, Lady Cathy, who passed away at the age of 84. His brother Martin, 82, has been diagnosed with dementia.
