Former Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers and Liverpool man reveals he was hospitalised over Christmas

The 34-year-old, who now works as a coach for his boyhood club Liverpool, was told to “urgently” attend hospital after having bloods taken on Christmas Eve, otherwise his body would start shutting down.

After more tests were carried out, doctors diagnosed the former midfielder with Addison’s disease, an uncommon illness that occurs when the body doesn't make enough of certain hormones.

Spearing revealed the news on social media, where he urged people to get checked out if they ever notice any changes in their body.

“My first Christmas off in 17 years was a little different than I expected,” Spearing wrote on Instagram.

“After blood tests with the club on Christmas Eve I was told I needed to attend hospital urgently before my body started shutting down. I was potentially hours/days away from going into something called adrenal crisis.

“After more observations and tests were carried out, they diagnosed me with Addison’s disease.

“It’s taken me a minute to get my head around it but I am thankful that now it’s been diagnosed it can be controlled and managed through hormone replacement treatment and it’s not something that I will allow to affect or dictate my life.

“Thinking back, I have been ignoring symptoms and changes in my body for over a year without it being checked. If I didn’t get this checked when I did things could have turned out very differently.

“Moral of the story, don’t ignore changes in your body, no matter how small. Get them checked out!”