Ex-England footballer Ugo Ehiogu passes away at 44 after suspected cardiac arrest

London: Former England and Aston Villa defender Ugo Ehiogu has passes away after suffering a suspected heart attack. He was 44.

Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the news on their official Twitter handle.

Ehiogu, the Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Sheffield United defender, who retired in 2009, collapsed at Tottenham's training centre on Thursday, where he was the Under-23 coach.

Ehiogu received medical treatment on site before being transferred to hospital by ambulance, reports Independent.

Tottenham, in a statement on Friday, said, "We can confirm that Ugo Ehiogu is currently in hospital after collapsing at our Training Centre earlier today."

"Our Under-23's coach received immediate treatment on site from our medical staff before being transferred to hospital by ambulance."

"Everyone at the Club sends their best wishes to Ugo and his family. We shall continue to provide updates when we have further information," the statement added.

Born in Homerton, London, Ehiogu began his career at West Bromwich Albion as a trainee, turning professional in 1989.

After just a few games for Albion in the Second Division, Ron Atkinson brought him to First Division Aston Villa for 40,000 pound in August 1991.

By 1994, he had replaced Shaun Teale as the main central defensive partner to Paul McGrath. He remained at the club for nine years, making over 300 appearances in all competitions.

He joined Middlesbrough from Villa in November 2000 for, at the time, a club record fee of eight million pound.

He made four appearances for England between 1996 and 2002.

On August 24, 2012, Ehiogu came out of retirement to sign for Wembley F.C., agreeing to play in the club's FA Cup games alongside fellow former professionals Ray Parlour, Martin Keown, Claudio Caniggia, Brian McBride and Graeme Le Saux.

After moving into coaching following his retirement, Ehiogu was part of Peter Taylor's England Under-20 coaching set-up, before taking up a role with the Tottenham academy in July 2014.