Gary Lineker: Arthritis means I can never play golf again

Gary Lineker has revealed he suffers from chronic arthritis which means he will never be able to play golf again.

The 59-year-old TV presenter and former professional footballer admitted he loved playing golf as a hobby but he is no longer able to even hold a club.

Lineker told the Rain Delay with Mark Nicholas podcast: “I don't play any more because actually my fingers are so arthritic I can't even hold a club. I don't play but I have kept that membership."

Ased if he thought he would ever take part in the sport again, he said: "Only watching. I had to work very hard at it. I loved golf."

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The Match Of The Day presenter also admitted that he had often lost his temper on the golf course.

He revealed: "If I do something I want to do it as well as I can. It used to frustrate me though so much, golf.

"My golf was a bit like my football, I always felt. I was hopeless from long range but once I got close in I was quite good. It's a great game, golf, but I found it hugely frustrating.

"There have been so many times I would walk off a golf course and think, 'God, you behaved like a bit of a prat today, get a grip'."

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Lineker recently revealed he has been in self-isolation after one of his sons experienced symptoms of the coronavirus.

The father-of-four tweeted in March: "In self isolation as @GeorgeLineker has symptoms. They’re not the regular ones, but complete loss of sense of taste and smell.

"Odd these have not been pointed out much. Been nearly a week and has spent time at mine. I’ve been vigilant, hand washing/distancing but isolation it is."