STROKE victim Josh McNally has spoken of his delight at being back in action for London Irish.

The Exiles second row scored a try on his return after five months out during the 33-29 St Patrick's Party defeat to Gloucester last month, the RAF serviceman having been diagnosed with Patent Foramen Ovale after feeling unwell during the Aviva Premiership fixture at Saracens in October.

The 27-year-old said: “I’m enjoying being back in an Irish shirt. The St Patrick’s game was always going to be a big one in the calendar for me as I felt I could target it for a return.

“The whole story of having a stroke and struggling to find a cause was the biggest thing.

“If you couldn’t find a cause, then you struggled to find anyone to say, ‘Yes, you are fit to play’ because it could happen again.

“Thankfully, we sought some of the best medical advice and found that I had a hole in the heart which is the reason the clot had got through."

He continued: “We got that closed, and I had a three-month recovery period, and I’ve got back on the park since.

"It’s been a long process but it feels like a distant memory now. A lot of people are born with a hole in the heart. Most people take their first breath and it shuts, but for some it doesn’t. It’s quite common.

“Not many people will push themselves to elite athlete levels of max heart rate, so they won’t find it.”

Reflecting on his emotions after the Saracens game, he added: “I played 80 minutes and, driving home, my heart had expanded with all the stress of the game and the clot managed to get through.

“I could easily have got through my whole life with loads of near misses, but nothing ever happening.

"I was just unlucky that a clot got through and caused a stroke, but lucky it was so minor because it could have been a lot worse. Thankfully, it was a bullet dodged and I crack on.”