But the dad-of-two used singing techniques that he had learned as a keen amateur musician to find his voice again.
And the first sound his wife Sarah heard from him in a call from the hospital intensive care unit was the opening line of pop legend Rod’s hit I Don’t Want To Talk About It.
She said: “When I saw a call from Kelly, the nurse on ITU at 8am, I thought it would be bad news.
“But she just said, ‘listen to this’, and passed it to Steve. And he started singing the Rod Stewart song with the first line, ‘I can tell by your eyes that you’ve probably been crying forever’.
Esta historia es de la edición June 28, 2020 de Daily Star Sunday.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición June 28, 2020 de Daily Star Sunday.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
MY BUBBLE HAS NOT BURST
Wilder is calm as contract expires in the summer
On a roll
ZIAN DIGGING IN FOR CLARETS
Fight on
PAHARS BELIEVES IN SAINTS
ALISSON WONDERLAND
Kop keeper: Time to create more history
ALI KEEPS
Reds shot-stopper pleased with storming start but is warning of complacency
Ruud is buzzing at Stolar display
RUUD VAN NISTELROOY says he will stick with rookie goalkeeper Jakub Štolarczyk for Leicester's showdown with Manchester City today.
Back under a heavy cloud
RUBEN HONEYMOOK OVER AS STORM HITS OLD TRAFFORD AGAIN
HELP FOR HEROES
500 smiles wiped but Pep won't blame stars
COOL CUSTOMER
Luke not riled by former chamn Wright
IT'S BEEN A BRIT SPECIAL
There's been many ups and downs... but it has been a thrilling year to look back on!