David Ginola has quadruple bypass surgery after heart attack

Former France, Newcastle and Spurs star David Ginola has undergone quadruple heart bypass surgery after suffering a heart attack while playing football on Thursday.

The 49-year-old collapsed during a game in the south of France, where he had been attending a celebrity golf tournament.

Ginola reportedly swallowed his tongue and received seven shocks with a defibrillator due to an irregular heartbeat before being airlifted to hospital in Monaco, where he underwent surgery, reports Sky News.

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Fears that he was in a coma were dismissed when he sent a series of tweets from his hospital bed today, thanking people for their concern.

Surgeon Professor Gilles Dreyfus, who carried out the operation, told Sky that the former winger was in "a catastrophic state" when he arrived. But he added that the former footballer's recovery was "going well", and that he did not apppear to be suffering from "any neurological after-effects".

However, there was confusion on Thursday night over the player's condition following another message on Twitter, which suggested that Ginola was just undergoing tests and joked about the dangers of hosting a World Cup in Qatar.

"Ginola's message was in fact uploaded by his agent – and not the former football himself – raising fears for his health once again," reports the Daily Mail.

One of Ginola's friends, who witnessed the collapse, told French TV it was "absolutely not the case" that he was "fine".

The winger, whose skills made him a cult figure in England, retired in 2002 after playing for Newcastle, Spurs, Aston Villa and Everton in the Premier League.

He went on to appear in several adverts for male grooming products, currently works as a pundit and last year announced he would stand for election as president of Fifa.

"Just two days ago.... [he] appeared healthy and in good spirits when he was pictured attending the Amber Rocks concert at One Mayfair in London," says the Mail.

He is expected to remain in hospital for at least ten days.