Stuart Pearce is recovering in a Canadian hospital after suffering a medical emergency on board a flight from the United States. The former England defender was travelling from Las Vegas to London Heathrow when the Virgin Atlantic flight was diverted to St John's, Canada.
Commentator Sam Matterface, who works alongside Pearce at TalkSport, said the 62-year-old was “in great spirits” after speaking to him. Pearce had been in the US to attend the Super League match between Wigan and Warrington. Matterface said Pearce was frustrated to miss Nottingham Forest’s home game against Manchester City, two of his former clubs.
A message reading “Get Well Soon Stuart” was displayed on the big screen at the City Ground after three minutes of the Premier League match, in recognition of Pearce’s old shirt number. The flight, carrying 255 passengers, arrived in London six hours behind schedule after the diversion.
Pearce made 401 appearances for Nottingham Forest during a 12-year spell, and also played for Coventry, Newcastle, West Ham and Manchester City. He earned 78 caps for England, featuring in the 1990 World Cup semi-final and scoring in the Euro 96 quarter-final shootout win over Spain.
After retiring, Pearce managed England Under-21 for six years, served as caretaker manager of the senior team for one game, and coached Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympics. He had two stints in charge at Forest and was part of David Moyes’ coaching staff at West Ham until 2022.
