José Enrique undergoes emergency brain tumour surgery

Former Liverpool defender José Enrique has revealed that he was diagnosed with a rare brain tumour a month ago.

The 32-year-old Spaniard underwent emergency nine-hour surgery on the tumour which was located behind his eye and he is now currently in recovery following what everyone hopes was a successful procedure.

Commenting via his Instagram account, Enrique said: “Sorry I haven’t been around much. It has been the toughest few weeks of my life.

“Within the space of one month I have found out the news that I have a rare brain tumour and had surgery to have it removed. I am now in recovery and so thankful.

“Life is too precious.”

A post shared by Joseenriquee3 (@joseenriquee3) on Jun 23, 2018 at 12:17am PDT

He also told Spanish publication MARCA: “We were meeting with Chris Hughton, coach of Brighton that I had during my time at Newcastle, and that night I was beginning to get annoyed, I arrived at the hotel and thought they were migraines.

“During the night I had a brutal headache. The next morning I started to see blurry, then I started to see double, I had my eyes open and I saw double.

“I had to go to the emergency room and after nine hours there I had a CT scan with neurologists and the test indicated that a vein in my head had collapsed.

“I was sent to St. George’s Hospital in London immediately, specialising in neurology and I spent two nights there.

“It is a tumor located in a complicated area of ​​the head, it is very rare, it is not very usual, it was located behind the eye, that is why I now wear a patch.

“It was a complex surgery, Dr. Simal and his team operated on me last week [in Valencia], I went into the operating room at 9 in the morning and I left at 6 in the afternoon, the tumour was stuck to the artery and it was a complicated intervention.

“They did an exceptional job, I was in the ICU for 24 hours and I am very grateful to the work of Dr. Simal and his medical team.

“They were the worst days of my life I stayed in bed for five days without moving.”

Liverpool Football Club issued the following statement now that the news has become public: “The thoughts of everyone at Liverpool Football Club are with Jose Enrique after the player revealed he has undergone surgery on a brain tumour.

“The former Reds defender made the announcement via his personal social media accounts on Saturday morning, confirming he had undergone a procedure to have a tumour removed.

“Enrique added that he is now in recovery following the operation.

“Everyone at Liverpool FC wishes him a full and speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing him back at Anfield again soon.

“You’ll Never Walk Alone, Jose.”

Jose’s partner Amy-Jaine also posted a few words on Instagram.

This last month has been the hardest of our lives.. we found out on a travel to London that Jose has a rare type of brain tumor. he has since then had it removed successfully and is in recovery. we are so lucky and thankful for the help of St. George’s hospital London and neurosurgeon Dr Simal here in Valencia. Jose has always been a person who eats amazingly healthy, never drank alcohol or smoked in his life and had a career as a professional footballer. It puts everything into perspective in life and just shows that anything can happen to anyone at anytime. So hold your loved ones close, cuddle them when you can, tell them how much you love them and appreciate all the goodness that you have around you. Life is too precious ❤🙏

A post shared by amyjaine (@amyjaine) on Jun 23, 2018 at 12:46am PDT