JACK Cork insists he doesn’t fear playing again, despite getting the fright of his life in his last game.

The 21-year-old was admitted to hospital with atrial fibrillation after his heart started racing during England Under 21s’ friendly with Iceland at Deepdale last month, registering a terrifying three beats per second while resting.

After being discharged from Royal Preston the following day, following treatment to thin his blood to prevent clotting and bring his heart-rate down, Cork returned to parent club Chelsea to undergo a string of tests at Stamford Bridge and Harley Street Clinic – London’s specialist heart hospital – and was prescribed a week’s rest before getting the all-clear to return to Turf Moor yesterday.

The midfielder is in contention for an immediate return to action tonight as Burnley bid to give their fading play-off hopes a shot in the arm at Nottingham Forest, who have also slid down the form table and out of the top six.

Medics said only time, and games, will tell whether there will be a recurrence of those symptoms.

But Cork says he is determined to put his health to the test.

“I’m not sure what caused it. In training everything's looked all right,” he said.

“They said it's either something that I could have had all the time and it's come back or it could have been a virus or (because of) energy drinks.

“I think the only way to tell if it's going to happen again is if they put me in a game situation with the stress.

“The main problem is whether or not it comes back again. There's nothing they can do at the minute.

“I just have to play and train as long as it's fine.

“But it was scary when it happened,” added Cork, who said he felt like he was on the verge of blacking out during the friendly.

“I felt really tired and I couldn't run from about 15 minutes in. Every time the ball went out I was hoping they'd take longer to get it back in play then I could take a second breath. I just felt knackered.

“I went over 15 minutes before half-time and said 'my heartbeat's really high and I feel really tired'.

“Sometimes you get that so I was hoping it would just go away but it never did.

“I came off at half-time and the doctor had a look and said he wanted to get me to hospital.

“It was a bit weird seeing my resting heartbeat doing three beats a second.

“My heart was murmuring and they had to thin my blood to stop it clotting and regulate my heartbeat.

“It was a bit scary because you think you're young and you don't get heart problems.

“It's a big organ and there isn't another one to back it up if it fails.”

But Cork is determined to put his health scare behind him and stop Burnley's season from petering out.

“I'm not worried about playing or anything because I've had 24-hour heart-rate tests and maximal tests (on the treadmill) and an echo scan on my heart,” he said.

“Fingers crossed it never happens again otherwise they'll have to look at it properly.

“But I know how it felt so if it happens again I think I'd be able to get off the pitch quicker.

“My heart-rate and my heart have been fine though.

“It all looks all right now.”

Cork's return has made for a timely double injury boost for manager Eddie Howe, as Steven Thompson's comeback following groin surgery provided some much-needed extra ammunition in the run-in.

The striker underwent a complicated operation to remove and replace six metal pins used to re-attach his abductor muscle around four years ago, when he was at Cardiff, after one of them had become infected.

His latest surgery involved about an inch of bone being removed from his pelvis, and it was feared his season might be over.

But he returned ahead of schedule from the bench at Leicester.

“When I went for my surgery I'd just scored against Cardiff so I was feeling quite confident and fit,” said Thompson, whose goal against his old club was his second this calendar year.

“I've not been out for a long period of time so my fitness hasn't deteriorated that much.

“I still feel quite good.

“They had me down for not being back for another three or four weeks.

“It's been a lot quicker than the doctor and surgeon thought it would be.

“It's been quite trouble free so I'm really pleased.

“I feel great.”