Ex-Liverpool and England star admits to hiding health condition from club after terrifying episode

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock admitted he hid his epileptic seizures from the club as he feared being released if he made his condition known.

Warnock experienced seizures from a young age at his boyhood club, with the first one happening while he was at school and the last coming at the age of 14, although he continued to worry he would experience another.

He made 67 appearances for the Reds after coming through the ranks but never told the club’s medical staff his history.

The 44-year-old, who now works as a pundit for BBC 5 Live, spoke about his childhood condition for the first time in response to an interview with Hull City’s Matt Crooks, who has epilepsy.

He told the radio station: “I was petrified of telling Liverpool because I was worried of being released, because I was thinking ‘If they think I’ve got a condition they will release me’.

“I was worried about being on the pitch and it happens. There were no triggers for me, I never knew what triggered it. That was what petrified me.”

He said the first time it happened, “I was at a computer and then I woke up in a hospital bed. I was like ‘Wow, how have I got here?’ I didn’t remember anything, I completely blacked out.

“My friends told me I started having a seizure. Obviously an ambulance was called and I was taken to a hospital bed.

“I was embarrassed to be honest, because no-one else had it, no-one knew about it, I didn’t know about it until it happened.”

After he experienced another seizure at home he was sent for CT and MRI scans.

The seizures continued to occur “for three years or so”. Warnock, who retired in 2018, said: “I was in a fortunate position where I grew out of it. I didn’t have to go on medication [which many people use to manage the condition] or worry about driving a car or things like that. It’s the first time I’ve ever really spoken about it.”