'Thought it was lights out '- Rio Ferdinand breaks silence on 'mad virus' that saw Man Utd legend rushed to hospital and forced off air

Former Manchester United star and TV pundit Ferdinand was supposed to be a part of TNT Sports' coverage of Arsenal's Champions League semi-final second leg clash against Paris Saint-Germain last week, but he missed the show after being rushed to the hospital. A couple of hours before kick-off, Ferdinand wrote on social media: "Gutted to be missing the Semi-Finals this week on @footballontnt!! Wishing the team all the best — I’ll be watching every minute from the iPad!"

The 46-year-old has finally broken his silence on his health condition and revealed how he has endured a harrowing experience. Ferdinand claimed he even feared for his life at one point after being rushed to hospital with a serious illness.

Speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, the Red Devils icon said: "I had a mad virus. I thought lights were out at some point, I thought it was gonna happen. I thought I was minutes away from lights out, seriously. I was in my house, I was in my bed like this [pained expression] and I couldn't even open my eyes. Then, the headache I had… I don't get migraines or nothing else so I don't know what they're like. I thought my head was in a vice and my eyes were going to pop out.

"Then, I was being sick, projectile vomiting in the toilet, I got back to bed and I was having vertigo. I was holding onto the sheets, I didn't know where I was. It was crazy."

He added: "I had to go to hospital and the doctor even said to me, 'Do you want an ambulance'? So that's when I knew. He went, 'We're going to get your brain scanned'. I thought it was a virus or a flu or something so when he mentioned brain scan and the ambulance, the panic was nuts. I went to hospital and I was in there for a few days. I couldn't even enjoy the hospital food. The soup and the ice cream normally does wonders."

Ferdinand is now recovering and will no doubt hope to resume punditry duties soon. His former Manchester United team have endured a disastrous Premier League campaign but do have a Europa League final clash against Tottenham Hotspur to look forward to on May 21.