Former France winger David Ginola is recovering in hospital in Monaco after a quadruple heart bypass operation.

The 49-year-old, who retired in 2002, collapsed in the south of France on Thursday.

According to his surgeon, quoted in local newspaper Var-Matin, Ginola was admitted in a "catastrophic state".

Ginola became a star player in the English top division after joining Newcastle in 1995. He also played for Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton.

A tweet from his official account on Friday read: "Hello world, never slept better. I'm fine, just need to rest a bit."

Concerns about Ginola's health were raised on Thursday, with reports he had collapsed while attending a golf tournament in Mandelieu on the French Rivera.

"He was unconscious and did not remember anything, but it is going well," said Professor Gilles Dreyfus of the Monaco Cardio-thoracic Centre.

"I have been able to talk to him. He does not show any neurological after-effects."

Ginola, who won 17 caps for France, retired in May 2002 and has gone on to become a pundit with the BSports, BT Sport, Canal Plus and CNN.

He began his football career in England in 1995, when Newcastle signed him from Paris St-Germain for £2.5m.

A fans' favourite at St James' Park, he joined Tottenham in 1997, winning the 1999 League Cup with the Londoners.

That same season, he was named the PFA players' player of the year and the Football Writers' Association's footballer of the year.