Shaquille O’Neal had fans worried after he posted a picture of himself on Twitter lying in a hospital bed on March 19.
The former Los Angeles Laker tagged his co-workers on “NBA on TNT” Ernie Johnson and Candace Parker on the post, which was captioned, “i’m always watching @TurnerSportsEJ and @Candace_Parker miss y’all.”
According to TMZ Sports, O’Neal was having hip surgery to fix a “nagging injury,” but the 51-year-old former baller is currently on the mend after the operation.
Upon seeing the post, several people showed concern for O’Neal, including former baller Roy Hibbert, who replied, “U good big man?”
Fans also showed their concern for Shaq on Twitter. “You are in my prayers,” noted one. “I was wondering where you were. TNT not the same without you.”
Another fan replied, “Praying everything is good with you, we love you out here!!!.”
The surgery comes after O’Neal went on a health kick last year and lost 40 pounds. Shaq shared a video clip on Instagram of his transformation, which featured his slimmed-down physique and abs. Shaq told “Entertainment Tonight” that he wanted to lose another 20 pounds in 2023 and appear chiseled in underwater ads.
“I lost 40 pounds,” said O’Neal. “I need to lose about 20 more, but impressive. I’mma get real chiseled up and do an underwear ad with my sons.”
O’Neal said he decided to get into shape after having some blood work done. The sports analyst revealed that he added more vegetables to his diet and learned about nutrition.
“I got some blood work done, a friend of mine called me and said, ‘You’re fat,’ and she gave me this guy’s name, and he did some blood work, and you know, ’cause I was the athlete — I wasn’t a salad eater. I won’t pay attention to any of that. I don’t care about none of that,” he said. “I didn’t know what the difference between a carb and a protein, at 50 years old I never knew. So, he was saying you can’t do this, you can’t do that, more vegetables, my iron’s low. And once I just started changing those certain things, it dropped.”
Shaq added that just walking 30 minutes per day is an excellent way to start getting healthy.
“Start off, if you can, by walking 30 minutes a day. A lot of people can’t do that ’cause I know, you got the kids, you gotta get to work. But if you can, start off by walking 30 minutes a day,” he said. “Put your headphones on, put on your favorite song, 30 minutes a day.”
O’Neal added that you also have to give something up, such as soda or bread, and eat a clean diet.
According to the outlet, O’Neal said that he planned to be back to work around April 16.
