401 appearances (1985-1997)401 appearances (1985-1997)
401 appearances (1985-1997) | Getty Images
Stuart Pearce suffered a medical scare while on board a flight from the United States, leading to an emergency landing in Canada.
The former England and Nottingham Forest defender is now recovering in a Canadian hospital after falling ill mid-flight.
The 62-year-old was travelling on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Las Vegas to Heathrow last weekend when he became unwell. After receiving medical attention on board, the flight was diverted to St John’s International Airport, where he was taken to the hospital for further treatment.
Commentator Sam Matterface, who works alongside Pearce at talkSPORT, confirmed that Pearce is in good spirits despite the ordeal. Speaking from the City Ground ahead of Saturday’s match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, he said: “I spoke to him yesterday, he’s in great spirits. He isn’t 100%, that is definitely the case, but he is in the right place, he is in the hospital. They are dealing with it.”
401 appearances (1985-1997)401 appearances (1985-1997)
401 appearances (1985-1997) | Getty Images
Matterface added that Pearce was disappointed to miss several planned events. “He actually said to me, ‘I have got so much I had to cancel. Some great games, and Mumford and Sons are playing on Wednesday night and I can’t go now.’ He wasn’t happy about that. He is in good spirits.”
Nottingham Forest paid tribute to Pearce during their Premier League match by displaying a ‘Get Well Soon Stuart’ message on the big screen in the third minute, a nod to his former shirt number.
Pearce enjoyed a celebrated playing career, making 401 appearances for Nottingham Forest over 12 years. He also played for Coventry, Newcastle, West Ham, and Manchester City, where he later became manager. He earned 78 caps for England and was part of the squads that reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96. His emotional celebration after scoring in the penalty shoot-out win over Spain at Euro 96 remains one of the tournament’s iconic moments.
Following his playing days, Pearce managed England’s Under-21 team for six years and had a brief stint as caretaker manager of the senior national team. He also coached the Great Britain men’s team at the London 2012 Olympics and most recently worked as part of David Moyes’ coaching staff at West Ham, a role he left in 2022.
Virgin Atlantic confirmed the incident in a statement: “Due to an unwell customer on board, the VS156 on 2 March flying from Las Vegas to London Heathrow diverted to St John’s International Airport, Canada, and was met by the medical services.”
The flight, which carried 255 passengers, had departed Las Vegas at 8.45pm local time and arrived in London six hours behind schedule.