Liverpool's Jay Spearing rushed to hospital with 'body shutting down'

Jay Spearing was rushed into hospital on Christmas Eve, with the Liverpool coach revealing that his body was threatening to 'shut down'.

The veteran midfielder sealed an emotional return to his former club in the summer after he agreed to a combined coaching and playing role in the side's youth ranks. But having made two appearances for the Reds' U21 side this term alongside his Under-18 coaching duties, Spearing was involved in an extremely scary incident over the festive period.

The 34-year-old wrote on Instagram : "My First Christmas off in 17 years was a little different than I expected. After blood tests with the club, on Xmas eve I was told I needed to attend hospital urgently before my body starting shutting down.

"I was potentially hours/days away from going into something called Adrenal Crisis. After More observations and tests were carried out they diagnosed me with Addison's Disease.

"It's took me a minute to get my head around it, but I am thankful that now it's been diagnosed it can be controlled and managed through hormone replacement treatment, and it's not something that I will allow to effect or dictate my life. Thinking back, I have been ignoring symptoms and changes in my body ( a cracking tan for a start) for over a year, without it being checked…

"If it wasn't for @jadespearing73 for pushing me to get checked, after she described my symptoms to @rachelwilliamshomeopathy she insisted I get my cortisol levels checked, I really do owe a massive thank you to Rachel because if I hadn't got this checked when I did things could have turned out very differently. Moral of the story - don't ignore changes in your body … no matter how small …get them checked out!"

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Addison's disease is a lifelong condition in which the body doesn't make enough of certain hormones such as cortisol and aldosterone. Whilst it can be life-threatening, it can be treated successfully with steroid hormones.

Spearing's post was very quickly flooded with touching messages from both current and former colleagues. Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was among those to have issued his well-wishes. Meanwhile, ex-Reds defender Jose Enrique also sent a message to the veteran midfielder. He wrote: "Glad you are ok amigo. Much love."

Stefan Bajcetic - who netted his first senior goal for the Merseyside club in the recent 3-1 victory over Aston Villa - also had a message for Spearing. "Get well soon Jay," he wrote.

Spearing began his career at Liverpool all the way back in 2006 and was eventually afforded 55 first-team appearances before leaving. He also includes Leicester, Bolton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool and Tranmere among his former employers.