Former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock has lifted the lid on his health scares and being dropped for the FA Cup final against Manchester United
Former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock, pictured in February 2026
Former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock, pictured in February 2026(Image: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
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Former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock has opened up on the heart procedure that saved his life - and the German surgeon who joked he had to Google how to operate.
Ruddock underwent surgery to restart his heart and later have a pacemaker fitted after health problems which became apparent while filming television show Harry's Heroes in 2019 and 2020.
The 58-year-old, who made 152 appearances for Liverpool between 1993 and 1997, also shed a significant amount of weight after years of heavy drinking and unhealthy eating habits.
And recalling his health scare, Ruddock said: "I started feeling dizzy and faint, and I couldn't walk. It came on in a week - one day I couldn't walk 100 yards, then 50 yards, then I couldn't get up five steps without feeling like I was going to fall over.
"They rushed me to hospital and my heart was between 140 and 150 beats per minute at rest - that's marathon pace. Over about six months I had all the tests, and then they stopped my heart and restarted it, which they do every day.
"I had a German surgeon with a good sense of humour. He said 'Razor, we're going to stop your heart and restart it. If it doesn't restart after seven times, you're a goner - and it's the first time I've done it. You'll be okay, I've Googled it'. Third time it was!
"Thankfully it restarted. Then I needed a pacemaker, because my heart was stopping during the night - it keeps the heartbeat regular.
"After that I had a gastric sleeve to lose a load of weight and take the pressure off my heart."
Ruddock won the League Cup during his time at Liverpool and had been in the team in the build up to the FA Cup final against Manchester United in 1996 before being told by then boss Roy Evans a few days ahead of the game that he wouldn't be in the squad.
"The manager said he'd name the team, but he kept putting it off," said Ruddock, speaking on The Jeff Stelling Show, in association with OLBG. "I'd played the quarter-final, the semi-final and the last six games of the season, so everyone assumed it'd be the same side.
"Then on the Friday he just said 'I don't know how to say this' and walked away.
"I was in tears. The worst part was ringing my dad. He had all his mates, all the tickets, he was so excited. Having to tell him I wasn't playing was the toughest thing I've ever had to do.
"Playing in an FA Cup final at the old Wembley in front of your dad was the greatest thing you could do. It broke my heart.
"That's when I went straight into the dressing room, and there was a big fridge of beer, and I just started drinking. I'd done nothing wrong. Looking back, that was the fuse - that's when the drinking really started, and the injuries came."