Chris Kamara has confirmed the encouraging results of his brain scan to check for signs of dementia.
The 63-year-old decided to undergo a test after suffering what he described as “brain fog”, fearing this may have been linked to heading the ball during his playing days.
Kamara made 778 appearances during a 20-year career featuring for clubs including Portsmouth, Stoke City and Leeds United.
He initially raised concerns over dementia last month during a discussion about fellow pundit Gary Lineker, 60, who has also decided to have his brain checked.
Kamara has since had the scan – and there is good news for the much-loved Sky Sports pundit.
(Image: Channel 4)
“They didn’t find anything,” Kamara told Steph’s Packed Lunch on Channel 4.
He added: “Watching back [a clip from an earlier episode the show], it’s slow and I know that’s not me of old.
“I went to Pontefract to the radiology department. The results were no loss of brain mass and very few lesions, which means no clinical relevance. So yes!”
Kamara also explained he had further checks due to his “brain fog” symptoms, saying: “There are loads of things I can track and I’m thinking ‘what’s going on?’
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Is Chris Kamara the best pundit in the business? Have your say in the comments.
“After the blood test I had, I’ve got an underactive thyroid. I’m suffering with a swollen tongue which causes you to slur your words, slows down, not your thoughts because the thoughts are there, but transferring those thoughts to the mouth to get you to talk coherently.
“All that sort of stuff. Feeling cold, even warm days you’re shivering and cold, weakness, muscle fatigue, tiredness…”
A relieved Kamara confirmed his symptoms can be explained by his underactive thyroid.
It has been a hectic season so far – so make sure you don’t miss a single thing by signing up for the brilliant new Mirror Football newsletter!
All the latest transfer news and big stories will land straight into your inbox. You won’t miss out.
To sign up, put your email at the top of this article or follow the instructions on this link.
He also recalled an incident on BBC’s The One Show which prompted his wife, Anne, to encourage him to get tested.
“I was on with Alex Jones and Michael Ball, I did the menu for the show live and not a problem,” said Kamara.
“Michael Ball talked to me about the Christmas album and said ‘name some of the songs’ and my mind had gone completely blank and I couldn’t think of anything.
“That was the first time my wife said to me, ‘there’s something not quite right, you need to get it checked out’.”
Sign up to the Mirror Football email here for the latest news and transfer gossip.
