Ex-England rugby star Steve Thompson's health battles - neck injuries to dementia
dailystar.co.ukSteve Thompson's documentary called Head On: Rugby, Dementia and Me will air on BBC Two tonight (October 5) and the former rugby star will go into detail about his dementia diagnosis and how he struggles to remember some of his finest sporting moments.The former rugby union player played in the position of hooker for Northampton Saints and England during his career, and he was once England's most-capped hooker.However, his dementia diagnosis has caused the rugby star to lose his memory of his sporting achievements, including his MBE and 2003 World Cup win.But when was Steve Thompson diagnosed with dementia and what other health battles has he faced?Here's everything you need to know:Steve was initially forced to quit rugby in 2007 after picking up a neck injury during a match against Biarritz for Northampton.The rugby star went on to receive a second opinion from doctors about the injury, and he then returned to rugby a short while later.However, Steve's sporting career ended for good in 2011 after he endured a second neck injury, causing him to experience numbness and dizziness after hitting a scrum machine.The injury came just two days before his debut with the London Wasps.The rugby player attempted to carry on training despite the injury and played for an hour in the 14-12 win at Worcester, which was his only game for the club and his last in professional rugby.He told the BBC: I went to the specialist and he advised me it isn't safe to carry on playing."It just went.
I was gutted. I played 60 minutes at Worcester and that was it."I tried to convince myself it was fine and it wasn't. I have got to accept it this time.
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