England rugby star Ben Youngs says he is 'on the mend' after surgery to fix heart defect

Rugby player Ben Youngs says he's on the mend after undergoing surgery to fix a heart defect. Credit: Mike Egerton/PA Wire
Rugby player Ben Youngs says he's on the mend after undergoing surgery to fix a heart defect. Credit: Adam Davy/PA Wire

England’s most-capped rugby player Ben Youngs has revealed he had heart surgery after collapsing during an open training session.

The Leicester scrum-half, who is from Aylsham, Norfolk, and who attended Gresham School in Holt, said he was “on the mend” and hoped to be fit for the new season which begins in September.

Youngs, 34, was diagnosed with arrhythmia and a condition called supraventricular tachycardia - a type of irregular heartbeat that causes the heart’s upper chamber to beat fast or erratically.

He had a two-hour operation following the episode which happened while he was training with Leicester this year.

Ben Youngs scores a try for Leicester Tigers. Credit: Nick Potts/PA Wire

Youngs, speaking on the For The Love Of Rugby podcast which he co-hosts with Tigers colleague Dan Cole, said: “You know when we joked around on the pod quite a while back, and we had this open training session at Leicester, and I said I was doing fitness, and basically I collapsed.

“Well, not collapsed, but I had to stop and lay down as my heart was pounding away, and the rain was hitting me in the face, and I sort of rolled my head to the side and looked at all these admiring fans – 30 of them – that were all packed out in the main stand at Leicester.

"And I thought: ‘This is it, this is how I’m going to go.’

Former England rugby star, Ben Youngs, during a training session. Credit: Steve Paston/PA Wire

“I basically had a few of these episodes and I’ve had it my whole life.

"And it can just kind of spontaneously happen at any stage of your life or career.

"And so I have had it my whole life, unknown to me.”

Youngs, who won 127 caps before retiring from Test rugby after the 2023 World Cup, added: “I’ve had a couple of episodes throughout my career but have always been checked up and we get the best medical care.

England’s Ben Youngs on the pitch with family following the Rugby World Cup 2023 bronze final match at the Stade de France. Credit: Mike Egerton/PA Wire

“The club have been amazing, as they so often are with anything like this. I got checked the first time it happened, (then) a second time it happened again.

“I am on the mend, I am recovering. I’ll be fine for the start of the season.

“There is a 90% success rate, so I should not suffer now. My ticker should be all good and it won’t suddenly kick in and go mental.”

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