Doctor's telling Shane Warne admission as new details of tragedy emerge
Shane Warne's long-term doctor has shed light on the Aussie cricket great's health battle, as Australia prepares for the return of the cricket great's body on Thursday.
Warne's body was transported to the Thai mainland by ferry from Koh Samui on Monday, where he was found unresponsive in his villa by friends.
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Attempts to revive him were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead.
On Thursday, Warne's casket - draped in an Australian flag - was loaded into the back of an ambulance in preparation for an expected nine-hour flight by private jet from from Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport to Australia.
The Dassault Falcon 7X left Thailand's capital Bangkok at 8.25am local time and is set to arrive in Melbourne later on Thursday.
The 52-year-old - who Thai police confirmed died from natural causes - had suffered from asthma and heart disease later in his life.
Dr Peter Brukner — Warne’s long-time physician during his role as team doctor for the Australian Test side - said the fact the legendary spinner suffered a suspected heart attack did not come as a shock to him.
“Warnie, if he had heart disease, which it sounds like he did, you know, that didn’t happen overnight in Thailand,” he said in an interview with Triple M Perth.
“It’s been happening for 20, 30 years from smoking, poor diet, etc, etc.”
Warne's long-time former teammate and fellow Aussie cricket great Ian Healy admitted to similar fears that Warne's lifestyle would see him end up dying young.
“An early passing didn’t surprise me for Warnie,” Healy told The Today Show.
“He didn’t look after his body that well. He yo-yoed up and down.
“He didn’t put much sunscreen on. I thought it would have become skin issues for him over time, but not at 52. And he would have been full of beans right to the end, I bet.”
Warne's manager himself revealed details of the 'ridiculous' diet the legendary cricketer undertook just before his tragic death.
Speaking on Weekend Today, James Erskine said Warne had just finished a liquid-based diet in an attempt to get 'shredded'.
“He did go on these ridiculous sorts of diets and he just finished one, where he basically only ate fluids for 14 days and he’d done this three or four times," he told the show.
“It was a bit … all or nothing. It was either white buns with butter and lasagne stuffed in the middle or he would be having black and green juices.
“I don’t know, he obviously smoked most of his life. I don’t know, I think it was just a massive heart attack. That’s what I think’s happened.”
Heartbreaking tributes from Shane Warne's family
As the nation readies for the return of Warne's body on Thursday evening, his family has accepted the government's offer of a state funeral, to be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on March 30.
The MCG was the stage of the leg spinner's famous Ashes hat-trick in 1994 and 700th Test wicket on Boxing Day in 2006, his final series before he retired from international cricket.
The stadium is across town from Upper Ferntree Gully, the outer Melbourne suburb where Warne was born.
Warne's family issued a statement on Monday night describing the night of his death as the beginning of "a never-ending nightmare".
"Looking to a future without Shane is inconceivable," his father and mother, Keith and Brigitte said.
"Hopefully the mountain of happy memories we all have will help us cope with our ongoing grief."
Warne's son Jackson wrote: "To my brother, my best friend, to my Dad, I love you so much. I don't think anything is ever going to fill the void you have left in my heart."
Warne's youngest daughter Summer said she wished she could have hugged him "tighter in what I didn't know were my final moments".
Eldest daughter Brooke said she loved him "to infinity and back" and would miss him forever.
"I am lucky and will forever be so proud to call you my Dad forever," she wrote.
Ticket information for the state funeral is yet to be released, but the Victorian premier said there will no crowd cap at the venue, which can hold up to 100,000 spectators.
with AAP
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