Premier League legend Shaka Hislop is said to be “conscious and talking” after collapsing live on air in scary scenes overnight.
The former goalkeeper, 54, was part of ESPN’s live coverage in the United States of the high-profile pre-season friendly match between Real Madrid and AC Milan at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on Sunday evening.
Hislop was discussing the latest situation regarding Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe with host Dan Thomas when he could be seen suddenly staggering back and forth before falling onto his colleague and then to the ground in frightening fashion.
Thomas immediately called for medical help, later tweeting: “Shaka is conscious. The medics are looking after him.”
Dan Thomas gave an update on Shaka Hislop's condition.
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) July 24, 2023
Shaka is "conscious and talking" and has been tended to by medics 🙏 pic.twitter.com/B3mlEsxUfw
He was later able to provide a further positive update on Hislop’s improving condition during the half-time interval.
“As it stands, it’s good news,” Thomas said. “He’s conscious, he’s talking. I think he’s a little embarrassed about it all. He’s apologised profusely.
“He’s not a man who likes people to make a fuss of him. Obviously it’s far too early to make any sort of diagnosis, but the important thing is that Shaka is conscious and we spoke to his family as well, because can you imagine seeing that happen live.
“There can’t be many more things that can scare you amongst the family. But fortunately we spoke to his wife and things are looking okay. Silly Shaka! As it stands, it looks like Shaka will be all right.”
Former goalkeeper Hislop spent 14 years as a player in England, making 151 appearances across two spells with West Ham between 1998-2002 and 2005-06.
He also played for both Newcastle and Portsmouth after initially representing Reading, finishing his career with Major League Soccer (MLS) side FC Dallas in 2006 before going on to become a pundit and commentator for ESPN.
The Hackney-born Hislop also earned 26 senior caps for Trinidad and Tobago during his playing career, featuring at the 2006 World Cup before hanging up his boots.
