McTominay reveals he underwent heart shock procedure during World Cup with Scotland

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.

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?”},{