Scott McTominay given police escort as drama 36 hours before Scotland World Cup clash laid bare

At the time, his absence from training and travel arrangements to Boston – he travelled from the team’s base in Charlotte separately from the rest of the team – were attributed to a stomach bug. In fact, it was a heart condition known as atrial fibrillation.

“You're not going to say I have something to do with my heart two days before the first game of the World Cup,” he said.

“It's not an ideal scenario being in the hospital two days before—well, technically 36 hours before the first game of the World Cup. But you have to take the cards that you're dealt on the chin. It's part of the game. There's nothing I could do about it.”

Some will question the decision to let him play in not only the match against Haiti, which Scotland won 1-0, but also the two following group games against Morocco and Brazil. The Scots lost both fixtures and exited the World Cup with McTominay perceived to have been under par.

“It was in my hands,” he said. “The medical team reassured me it was safe to play and they said: ‘What do you think?' I said: ‘Let’s go for it’.”

Unbeknown to nearly everyone, and while Scotland fans were drinking bars dry in Boston, McTominay was at the centre of incredible drama.

Manager Steve Clarke told reporters that the midfielder had been laid low by a stomach bug. The reality of the situation - and the fact it was kept secret for so long - is barely believable given the global attention on the tournament and that McTominay is Scotland's star player.

He himself sought to downplay the situation on Tuesday at Hampden as he revealed the true story for the first time. “We got a police escort to go and get the shock then that was it to be honest,” recalled McTominay. “After that, I was back in normal rhythm, which is how a healthy heart should be then I went and played the game two days later.”

He described being put under anaesthetic. “You have to get put to sleep,” he said. “Whenever you go under anaesthetic and you have to get put to sleep, it decreases the athletic performance a little bit and (affects) sleep and stuff like that. It was far from ideal but those are the cards that you're dealt, there's nothing you can do about it.”

Although he stressed his family were fully on board with him playing, he wouldn’t have listened had it been otherwise. “All my family and friends had just flown 10 hours for the first game of the World Cup,” he said.

“I didn’t sit there thinking I might not play. That would never be the case. I was always going to play in that game. Maybe selfishly, I don’t know but that’s football. Players play with injuries all the time when they’re not quite right and it might be to the detriment of the team. (But) I was fully functional.”

The Napoli midfielder has since undergone an operation after the problem resurfaced following an early season Serie A game against Como. He returned to Manchester, where he had a procedure known as pulsed field ablation.

The player was sidelined for several weeks, missing the first games under new Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli but has returned to the squad for upcoming Nations League games against North Macedonia and Switzerland.