Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has revealed he concealed epileptic seizures from the club during his time at Anfield, driven by the fear that he would be released.
Warnock, who came through the youth ranks and made 67 appearances for Liverpool, later played for Blackburn, Aston Villa and Leeds before retiring in 2018. He now works as a pundit for the BBC.
Seizures From School Age
Warnock, now 44, said his first seizure occurred while he was at school. He told the BBC: "I was at a computer and then I woke up in a hospital bed. And I was like 'wow, how have I got here?'. I didn't remember anything, I completely blacked out."
He added: "My friends told me I started having a seizure. Obviously an ambulance was called and I was taken to a hospital bed. I was embarrassed to be honest, because no-one else had it, no-one knew about it, I didn't know about it until it happened."
Fear of Release
After experiencing another seizure at home, Warnock underwent CT and MRI scans, but he never informed Liverpool about his condition. "I was petrified of telling Liverpool because I was worried of being released," he confessed. "Because I was thinking 'if they think I've got a condition they will release me'. I was worried about being on the pitch and it happens. There were no triggers for me, I never knew what triggered it. That was what petrified me."
Warnock has not had a seizure since the age of 14 and did not require medication. "I was in a fortunate position where I grew out of it," he said. "I didn't have to go on medication or worry about driving a car or things like that. It's the first time I've ever really spoken about it."
Epilepsy in Sport
Having epilepsy is not a barrier to sporting success. England rugby star Tommy Freeman, who went on the British & Irish Lions tour in 2025, began having seizures at 14 and was diagnosed with epilepsy at 19. He takes daily tablets for the condition and last year became the first England player to score a try in all five games of a single Six Nations Championship.
