Former goalkeeper Shaka Hislop ‘conscious’ after collapsing on air in California

Shaka Hislop, who played for Reading, Dallas, West Ham, Newcastle and Portsmouth across a professional career spanning 15 years, is now conscious and recovering after collapsing on TV before Sunday’s friendly between Real Madrid and Milan in California.

The former goalkeeper was working as an analyst for US broadcaster ESPN. He fell to the ground during a pitchside interview at the Rose Bowl. His colleague Dan Thomas swiftly asked for assistance as the channel cut for a commercial break.

Although temperatures in California reached around 30 degrees Celsius on Sunday, it’s still unclear if the heat was responsible for Hislop’s collapse. Thomas provided a positive update, tweeting: “Shaka is conscious. The medics are looking after him.”

He was able to offer more detail during half-time of the friendly. “It is AC Milan 2 Real Madrid 0,” Thomas said on ESPN, adding “[Shaka] is conscious, he’s talking. I think he’s a little embarrassed … He’s apologised profusely, not a man who likes people to make a fuss of him.”

“Things are looking OK,” Thomas said, although stressing it’s too early to make any sort of diagnosis. Born in England, 54-year-old Shaka played for them at the under-21 level before making 26 appearances for Trinidad and Tobago at the senior international level.