'His health is more important' - Bangor boss Lee Feeney happy to see Irish League player Mark Haughey home 'in great spirits' after hospital tests over 'heart palpitations'
Bangor boss Lee Feeney has expressed relief at Mark Haughey’s discharge from hospital, confirming medical plans to “monitor him the next seven days” following tests in the aftermath of weekend heart issues.
The 35-year-old defender was taken to hospital on Saturday after experiencing what Feeney described as “heart palpitations” during the Premiership game against Glenavon.
Now back home with family, a Bangor club statement on Tuesday morning confirmed "following further checks, doctors are satisfied there are no underlying concerns at this stage and everything is progressing positively”.
Feeney admits “I’ll not mention anything about football to him” and is just happy to see the popular Irish League player “in great spirits”.
“He's been in great spirits...he’ll rest up and we’ll see what the next step is,” said Feeney. “They're going to monitor him the next seven days and know more after that but they haven't found any underlying issues.
"I’ll not mention anything about football to him, I’ve told him that, his health is more important...he's got a family there with kids.
"He just needs to worry about getting himself settled home and trying to shake off that scare and we’ll see how he is in the near future.
“He felt that during the game and obviously there was concern at the time but they've done tests and they were happy enough to say that they couldn't find anything noticeable.
"We went to the hospital to visit and he was cheerful and positive.”
News of Haughey’s return home has provided the Bangor squad a significant boost.
"When you see the likes of Mark going down, it does affect the rest of the team...when you see your leader, that happening to him, you do have concerns,” said Feeney. "We’re just delighted he's home with his family.
"He'll want to come back and play, there's no doubt about it, but he'll do it in his time.
"He got home late Monday, so I let all the players know and they're buzzing.
"Even if he's not playing, we'll look forward to him coming and supporting us because he's a big, big leader for the club.
"Even when Mark's not around, he's got an aura about him with his personality and character."