Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay has said he needed treatment to correct an irregular heartbeat two days before the team’s 1-0 World Cup victory over Haiti in June, and that he recently underwent an ablation procedure in Manchester.
The 29-year-old Napoli player, a former Manchester United midfielder, was put to sleep for the treatment before the Haiti match in Massachusetts and was given the all-clear to play. He also completed 90 minutes in Scotland’s losses to Morocco and Brazil at the tournament.
McTominay described the timing of the World Cup treatment as difficult. “I had to go and get the shock on my heart,” he said. “It was two days before the Haiti game. You’ve prepared so well. I was in such good condition and then something like that happens. You’re thinking, ‘How is this happening to me?’”
He added that players must accept such setbacks. “You have to get on with it, that’s the cards that you’re dealt in football. Sometimes, things don’t go your way.” McTominay said he was fully fit for the match but acknowledged the unsettling nature of the situation: “Whenever 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?”
The midfielder recently had an ablation, a minimally invasive operation used to correct irregular heart rhythms, in Manchester. He praised Napoli and the medical staff who treated him in the autumn. He missed Scotland’s opening four Nations League fixtures — a win, a draw and two defeats — but has been recalled to the squad after returning to domestic and Champions League action with Napoli.
McTominay said the procedure was necessary and that he feels much better. “Yeah, I’m good,” he said. “I’m feeling much, much better than what I was. I feel like it was something that needed to be done. In your career, you have moments like that where things can take you a bit by surprise.”
He also addressed the concern the news can cause. “Obviously, it looks a lot worse to people in the media and family and friends who reach out to you after they see news related to a heart issue, but it’s a relatively straightforward procedure, which went really, really well in Manchester.”
McTominay said returning to football remains his priority. “So just really happy to be back and playing football again. That’s the most important thing in my life and it always will be in terms of wanting to come back and prove myself again and making sure that I can go to another level.”
Scotland, coached by Sebastien Pocognoli, host North Macedonia in the Nations League on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, and visit Switzerland the following Monday. McTominay said his focus is on building on each performance. “For me, it’s always about coming back stronger. No matter how well you play in one game, it’s about the next game and pushing yourself and recovering well and eating the right things, sleeping correctly throughout your career.”