Irish Rugby Star Feared He Would Never Play Again

Ulster and Ireland flanker Chris Henry says he feared he would never play rugby again following a heart scare.

Henry was taken to hospital the night before the November 2014 international against South Africa at the Aviva Stadium with what doctors initially thought was a severe migraine.

Tests at St. Vincent’s hospital in Dublin subsequently revealed a hole in his heart had caused a mini-stroke, but the 31-year-old recovered to make the Ireland’s 2015 Rugby World Cup squad.

Henry admitted, however, that he suffered some dark days after he received the initial diagnosis.

“I thought that for a stage of about 10 days, where I didn’t know what was happening, and I was preparing for the worst,” he said.

“I was getting my affairs in order and starting to think what was I going to do and how much breathing space I’d have before I had to get back into study or go and find a job.

“I was constantly thinking of these things.