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Osi Umenyiora, a former New York Giants star and two-time Super Bowl champion, revealed a harrowing health battle that left him in a coma for days.
Umenyiora returned to “The Breakdown” on NFL UK & Ireland YouTube and said he went “through some real adversity”.
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Osi Umenyiora steps onto the field during the NFL London Games Ring of Honor ceremony at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 6, 2024. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
“I was in the hospital for almost a month,” he said. “I was in a coma for five days, had major surgery. I was in a really, really bad place. And I find out right then and there who actually loved me because there were some people who showed up every single day. There were some people who came to see me when I was in a coma. There were some people who traveled from all over the world to come to me when I was at my lowest.”
Umenyiora said his co-host Jason Bell was with him throughout the process. He said he “could feel the love” from Bell.
“This man right here was by my side,” he said of Bell. “I remember when I got up and saw him for the first time, I just started crying because I could feel the love.
Osi Umenyiora chases quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the first half on November 25, 2012. (CHRIS PEDOTA/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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“So don’t ever mistake what we have going on up here for something that isn’t real because this is real and I love you, J-Bell. I really appreciate everything you did. They told me that when I heard your voice, my heart rate started to go up, which was incredible.”
Umenyiora did not delve into the details of his health problem.
The former NFL defensive end played 11 years in the NFL between the Giants and the Atlanta Falcons. A two-time Pro Bowler, he was on the Giants’ teams that stunned the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.
New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora (72) hits New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) on the final drive of Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012. (TYSON TRISH/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Image)
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He had 85 sacks in 161 career games.
