Former Dundee United footballer Gary Mackay-Steven has revealed he woke up in hospital after his infamous river plunge thinking he was on a golf course.
The former Celtic and Aberdeen star was rescued from the River Kelvin in Glasgow and treated for hypothermia after he fell into it during a drunken night out in August, 2017.
But the winger has told how he caused concern after becoming convinced he was on the fairways playing a round when he was actually in a hospital ward.
The 29-year-old said he was unable to take in his surroundings and later told a nurse he thought he was on Union Street in Aberdeen.
Mackay-Steven said he is still unsure if his confusion was caused by the effects of hypothermia or concussion from banging his head as he was swept along the river.
He said: “One thing that was bizarre was being in the hospital.
“The nurse came through and said ‘all the checks are good, you can get out but you just need to tell me where you are’.
“I said ‘yeah no problem, golf course’. The nurse was like ‘no, have a look around, where are you?’
“I remember sitting there looking at monitors, looking at wires and my bed and I said ‘yeah, the golf course’. I was convinced I was at a golf course.
“My girlfriend was in the corner and she had obviously had a hell of a night and she couldn’t tell me where I was, I had to work it out for myself or they couldn’t release me.
“The nurse came back half an hour later and I said I was at Union Street in Aberdeen. She said ‘No you’re not on Union Street’ and I said ‘I know, I’m at the f***ing golf course’.
“I asked the doctor what it was and the one I asked didn’t have a clue. To this day I don’t know.
“I’m not even a golfer. It was bizarre.”
Mackay Steven, who now plays for New York City in the MLS, said he thought the incident was a laugh at first.
However, he now admits he could have died if he had not been a fit athlete and strong swimmer.
He ended up in the river after slipping when he jumped over a wall on his way home from a nightclub with friends.
The Thurso-born player spent 50 minutes in the water and rescue crews were drafted in to help him before he was taken to Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Speaking on the Football Daft podcast, he added: “I had a flat party that night after a game. I didn’t actually play in the game which was maybe a good thing for later on because I had the energy to keep afloat.
“Survival guys spoke on the subject after and I had been in for that length of time and had been drinking so it was so dangerous.
“I jumped over this wall and all of a sudden I was in the river.
“I got caught in what was like rapids and then I was swept down the river for a good bit.
“I remember being under water and going pretty fast so it was mental. Being able to swim helped greatly.”
