Craig Bellamy reveals ‘agony’ of ruptured appendix on family holiday in Spain
Wales manager Craig Bellamy has revealed how a ruptured appendix left him in intensive care.
Bellamy was on a family holiday in Spain in August 2025 when he collapsed and ended up having emergency stomach surgery.
“It’s stupid but I thought I had stomach cramps because I went to the gym the day before,” Bellamy said ahead of Wales’ upcoming Nations League A programme.
“On the Saturday I woke up and it was killing. I thought it was all the stupid sit-ups I had been doing
“I was in agony all day. I got through the day, but on the Sunday I was in more pain.
“I spoke with the missus about going to the Beach Club with the kids and I was like: ‘Yeah, we’ll get there and this is going to wear off’.
“I had a coffee but then I was sweating and I just keeled over. My missus said: ‘You need to go to the doctors now’.
“My appendix had ruptured and I was in intensive care for a good week. It used to kill you before surgery came in.”
A few weeks later Bellamy made a 6,000-mile round trip for Wales’ World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan.
Wales won the game 1-0 but eventually missed out on qualifying for this summer’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Bellamy said: “There was no danger of missing the game but I had to have check-ups.
“But if you look back at the Kazakhstan game, you could see how white I was. I was really struggling.
“I told the players because I wanted to know if anyone had been through it. One or two had.
“My first words to them were: ‘How painful is this?’ I’ve never known anything like it. It was a bad summer.”
Wales start the extended four-match international break on Thursday against Portugal in Lisbon before playing Denmark in Copenhagen three days later.
Bellamy’s side then return to Cardiff for home games against Norway and Denmark.
Wales manager Craig Bellamy has revealed how a ruptured appendix left him in intensive care.
Bellamy was on a family holiday in Spain in August 2025 when he collapsed and ended up having emergency stomach surgery.
“It’s stupid but I thought I had stomach cramps because I went to the gym the day before,” Bellamy said ahead of Wales’ upcoming Nations League A programme.
“On the Saturday I woke up and it was killing. I thought it was all the stupid sit-ups I had been doing
“I was in agony all day. I got through the day, but on the Sunday I was in more pain.
“I spoke with the missus about going to the Beach Club with the kids and I was like: ‘Yeah, we’ll get there and this is going to wear off’.
“I had a coffee but then I was sweating and I just keeled over. My missus said: ‘You need to go to the doctors now’.
“My appendix had ruptured and I was in intensive care for a good week. It used to kill you before surgery came in.”
A few weeks later Bellamy made a 6,000-mile round trip for Wales’ World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan.
Wales won the game 1-0 but eventually missed out on qualifying for this summer’s finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Bellamy said: “There was no danger of missing the game but I had to have check-ups.
“But if you look back at the Kazakhstan game, you could see how white I was. I was really struggling.
“I told the players because I wanted to know if anyone had been through it. One or two had.
“My first words to them were: ‘How painful is this?’ I’ve never known anything like it. It was a bad summer.”
Wales start the extended four-match international break on Thursday against Portugal in Lisbon before playing Denmark in Copenhagen three days later.
Bellamy’s side then return to Cardiff for home games against Norway and Denmark.
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