Sunderland AFC legend Marco Gabbiadini facing triple heart bypass

Sunderland AFC goal-scoring legend Marco Gabbiadini is to undergo a triple bypass to treat hear disease.

Gabbiadini, 56, is a regular pundit on BBC Radio Newcastle's Total Sport. He revealed on the show that he had undergone tests having felt twinges in his chest.

The ex-striker, who also played for Derby County, Crystal Palace and Hartlepool United was signed for Sunderland for a bargain £80,000 in 1987 as a 19 year-old from York City.

He was an immediate hit. Fast and powerful, he would score 87 goals in 185 games for SAFC, including the clincher in a 2-0 play-off victory at Newcastle in 1990.

He was pivotal to Sunderland rising from the old Third Division to the top flight in just three seasons, but now a grandad, he is facing a very different challenge.

Marco told Total Sport: "I've had some tests done, following up from a slight issue I was feeling in my chest. It turns out that I'm having a triple heart bypass on Wednesday (May 22).

"That was from an angiogram procedure I had about 10 days ago. The results weren't very good so I've ended up facing some surgery. So a bit of a shock more than anything.

"They call it heart disease and that's what it is.

"We had a couple of country walks with the grandkids and I was lagging behind a bit on the hills, which is normally not an issue, but it ended up being something that was a bit of a slow burn.

"I had a stress test in early March this year, then they hustled me through to this angiogram and they found out that I've been working on about 20% of my heart's capacity.

"It could have been a lot worse. I'm thankful that I've got to this stage and the NHS is fantastic. But we have a few issues. We had a bit of interaction with the British Heart Foundation and the figures are pretty daunting; the waiting lists and number of people.

"It's our country's biggest killer unfortunately and I want to highlight that. The littlest thing can turn out to be quite serious as it did for me."

The Sunderland Echo wishes Marco all the very best.