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Brighton's Connor Goldson urges clubs to scan for heart problems

Brighton defender Connor Goldson has told The Times football clubs should carry out more checks on players to detect heart problems.

Goldson, 24, has not played competitively since January after the discovery of a swollen aorta left him fearing for his career.

Former Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote died after collapsing while training in June, while Eugene Kouame passed away earlier this month after suffering a heart attack.

Goldson said: "You look at Tiote. You never know what can happen. Two players in the last few months is way too many.

"Football needs to do something. Every club needs to check at least once a year. Unfortunately players don't get the scans.

"I never felt a thing. If my little story can make other clubs think they need to do a test, hopefully it can save other players.''

Goldson's problem, discovered during routine screening by the club, meant he missed the closing stages of the Championship campaign as Chris Hughton's side won promotion.

"The surgeon explained it's like a balloon and it gets bigger and bigger and it can just pop -- or you can be fortunate and it never goes,'' he said.

"The average person has [an aorta of] 4cm and you're at risk at 5cm. My last scan was 4.9cm. So I was very close.''