Heart of the matter: Redknapp has undergone successful
surgery
Tottenham
manager Harry Redknapp has revealed he will be back on the
White Hart Lane touchline soon.
The 64-year-old has spoken about his heart scare,
revealing he had chest pains and struggled to breathe as he ran at
home.
He had two stents inserted to unblock coronary
arteries on Wednesday, forcing him to miss Thursday's Europa League
Group A game at Rubin Kazan.
However, he has made good progress in his
recuperation and is planning to return to the White Hart Lane
touchline "in a couple of weeks".
He told The Sun: 'I have a running
machine at home and run or jog for around half an hour several
times a week to help stay fit.
'But this time I went on and had been running for
no more than about two minutes when I felt pains in my chest. I had
hardly got going when it went tight and I was struggling to
breathe.
'As soon as that happens you know the best thing
to do is stop immediately, which I did.
'I wasn't that frightened if I'm honest - but it
was clearly a warning sign from within.
'I just stopped running there and then and I went
to see the club doctor at Spurs. He got me in to see a specialist
on Saturday and by Monday I was in hospital.
'I've had narrow or blocked arteries for some
time. I've been taking tablets for it just like a lot of people my
age do. It's no big thing.'
On Wednesday's procedure, Redknapp continued:
'They didn't even put me out. I was sort of half-conscious while
they did what they had to do and now it's all taken care
of.
'I haven't had a heart attack. It was just that
the specialist told me the arteries needed doing now.
'So we arranged it all and here I am. I feel fine
and everyone tells me I will soon be feeling better than
ever.
'I'm lucky that I work in an industry where there
are experts and specialists on hand to look after you
properly.'
Redknapp says his doctor has told him to put his
feet up 'for the next couple of weeks'.
He said: 'That's handy because after this weekend
we have a break for international matches coming up
anyway.
Take it easy: Redknapp has been told to rest for a
couple of weeks
'After that I'll be back in at Tottenham and back
on the training pitch.'
The defiant Poplar-born man is looking forward to
returning to the challenges of Premier League
management.
He added: 'This isn't going to stop me doing the
job I love.'
'I love my football and won't be walking away any
time soon. I can assure everyone I'm doing okay.
'It won't stop me running - I might even do the
marathon one day.'