Former Love Island star Adam Collard rushed to hospital after back injury left him 'biting and screaming into pillow'

The 29-year-old revealed that fiancé Laura Woods phoned an ambulance for him after he returned home from work in excruciating pain. He shared the ordeal in a post on Instagram, saying: “Last Wednesday I was driving home for 30 minutes after a full day at work, and by the time I got home I could barely walk into the house.

“The pain was unbearable to the point I was biting and screaming into my pillow. I couldn’t find comfort and after an hour I lost the feeling in my right leg all the way down to my toes. Not able to lift it from the hip. Which was scary and Laura had to ring an ambulance.”

Adam, who now runs Sculpt Gym in Ashington, revealed that the symptoms came to a head after months of dealing with a major injury. The former reality television star said that he underwent back surgery after experiencing a “tweak that sent me into another level of pain and discomfort”.

He added that the injury led to him experiencing sciatica, as well as a “stabbing pain” in his right glute and shaking in his knee when at full extension. Adam, who recently welcomed his first child with sports presenter Laura, also had trouble with his initial recovery, which he described as “yo-yo”.

He added that the lack of progress was “extremely depressing”, revealing that he had trouble sitting in a chair and either had to stand or lie flat. Adam said: “Driving in the car was a solid 9/10 pain, and even feeding Leo in bed was unbearable because of the slump position of the lumbar spine. Not ideal when you have a newborn... Which got me mentally as well as physically.”

Adam was administered spinal injections and nerve root blockers to deal with the pain. However, he finally took the decision to undergo lumbar decompression and discectomy surgery after his episode at home on Wednesday, April 23. He said: “The surgeon said once he cut in, he realised the discs were very bad. One of them had cracked and was pushing into my sciatic nerve.”

Adam added: “Now the real work begins, a slow build up, full recovery and being smart around my training for the next 12 months and probably forever in some cases.

“Thank you to those closest to me helping out over the last few months, my friends and family, and all of you lot and your messages reaching out. Now, it’s Comeback SZN.”

Adam and Laura welcomed baby boy Leo in January after the couple became engaged in July 2024. Laura has since returned to work, with her first presenting gig back coming during TNT Sport’s Champions League coverage earlier this week.