Shane MacGowan’s wife hopeful Pogues singer will be home ‘tomorrow’ after life-threatening brain inflammation

Victoria Mary Clarke shared the health update on social media

Shane MacGowan’s wife, journalist Victoria Mary Clarke, has given fans a promising update on The Pogues frontman’s health.

MacGowan was rushed to hospital earlier this month (5 December) after falling ill with viral encephalitis, a medical condition which causes inflammation in the brain.

The 64-year-old “Fairytale of New York” artist had also contracted shingles, which spread to his eye.

Clarke previously told fans that doctors were “confident he will be OK”, and thanked fans for sending good wishes in the wake of his illness.

On Tuesday (13 December), she shared a picture of MacGowan in his hospital bed, alongside the message: “Fingers crossed @ShaneMacGowan will be home tomorrow!”

Speaking to the Irish Sunday Independent at the weekend, she also opened up about the situation.

“I was absolutely terrified. You don’t know what is going to happen, do you? You just don’t know,” Clarke said.

“I noticed it on his face. His eye was getting red and began to close over. I called the doctor and the doctor said it was very dangerous so we had to get him to the hospital straight away,” she continued.

Left untreated, encephalitis can lead to death in 10 per cent of instances. Severe cases can also lead to seizures, hearing loss and blindness, all of which may be permanent.

“The hospital explained to me that shingles can go into your brain and that’s what happened to Shane so now they want to keep him in on a drip for two weeks,” Clarke said in the interview, dated 13 December.

“He seems perfectly normal now,” she added. “He is pissed off because he can’t have a drink in the hospital.”