Two-time Essendon premiership hard man Dean Wallis is recovering in hospital after having a heart attack.
The 52-year-old was in Echuca when he suffered the heart attack, and was rushed to hospital for life-saving surgery.
The huge scare came just days after cricketing great Shane Warne died from a suspected heart attack at the same age.
Wallis played 127 games for the Bombers between 1987 and 2001, and featured in the 1993 and 2000 flags.
After his playing career, Wallis was an assistant coach at St Kilda, Essendon, and Fremantle.
In 2011 while working at the Bombers, Wallis was suspended for 14 matches and fined $7500 after laying three bets on AFL games, including one involving Essendon.
Eighteen months ago, Wallis unleashed a scathing attack on the culture that had developed at Essendon in recent years.
He said Essendon had been hijacked by impostors, and he called for a review to be undertaken into the club's administrative and football department operations.
Wallis' relationship with the Bombers has since thawed, and he attended Essendon's Hall of Fame function last month.
Australian Associated Press
