Rugby League legend Garry Schofield, 59, reveals he’s had his eye removed and is stepping away from sport after suffering brain damage which will lead to dementia

Rugby League legend Garry Schofield has revealed that he has a serious brain condition that will lead to dementia.

The 59-year-old pundit is a member of the Rugby League Hall of Fame and is famed for playing for both Hull FC and Leeds Rhinos, where he also sits in the clubs’ version of the recognition.

Schofield, who also played for the likes of Balmain Tigers and Doncaster throughout his career, has 46 caps for Great Britain and three for England and went into coaching when he finished playing.

Now, however, he has announced that he will be stepping award from the limelight having received his diagnosis around 20 months ago.

He has detailed how he was diagnosed with brain damage, and detailed in his final Total Rugby League column how the issues came about. 

The 59-year-old announced that he will be stepping away from the game to focus on his health

‘I was diagnosed with brain damage in March 2023 and have kept it a closely guarded secret until now,’ he wrote. ‘The symptoms, which I will share with you, are horrendous.

‘I’ve been told I will end up with dementia, so the time has come for me to walk away from the game and concentrate on my health.

‘I can trace my problems back to December 2019 when I had an operation to fix a detached retina in my left eye. But it wasn’t successful. Five or six days later, it felt like my head was going to explode. I needed seven more operations and three laser procedures.

‘Eye pressure should be between five and 23 mmHg (millimetres of mercury), yet my recordings were 82, 79, 78, 68, 67, 58, 44 and 40 which were quite literally off the chart. The hospital told me I should be on the floor, crying out in pain with those readings.’

He has had one of his eyes removed during the process, which the surgeon said was ‘knackered’.

Schofield also wrote that he has suffered with ‘headaches, migraines, forgetfulness, anxiety and lack of concentration’ since.

He has been a vocal pundit in retirement but included in the column that ‘you won’t hear or see me interviewed anymore’.

He also explained how he had an eye taken out due to the condition and the circumstances that led to the diagnosis

Having revealed he would be stepping away from the game to concentrate on his health, he did aim one final parting shot.

‘One reason I’m not too sad to be finishing this column is the sport just doesn’t excite me anymore,’ he wrote. ‘The on-field product isn’t anywhere near as entertaining as it should be.

‘And off the field, everything is so sanitised that if you’re not permanently ‘on message’ and 100 per cent ‘positive’ about everything, then there’s no room for you.

‘Balanced critical analysis has been driven out of English Rugby League by a governing body and clubs simply for the selfish reason that they don’t appreciate scrutiny.’