Wrestling legend Ric Flair was rushed to a Tampa hospital after falling outside a restaurant and suffering facial injuries, hours after announcing blood clot travel limits.

TMZ Sports reported that Flair was at the bar at Wagamama in Tampa, Florida, on Friday morning when he stood up, left his phone and drink behind, walked across the street, and suddenly fell.

Emergency medical personnel quickly gathered around him. The fall cut open his head and eye. The eye bled extensively, and he may have suffered a concussion. Crews loaded him into an ambulance and took him to the hospital.

The 77-year-old’s mishap came only a few hours after he publicly addressed a blood clot problem that had already forced him to cancel travel plans. Tampa Fire Rescue later confirmed it responded to a fall and transported an adult male to a local hospital, though it cited privacy rules and did not name the patient.

Blood clot forced Flair to scrub Seattle trip hours earlier

Fox News carried the statement Flair posted before the fall. Doctors had restricted his flights.

Flair wrote:

"My Doctors Have Limited My Travel To 3, 4 Hours. Seattle Falls Outside That Range, And As Disappointed As I Am, I Have To Put My Health And Recovery First. Blood Clots Are Extremely Serious And Can Be Life-Threatening"

He noted that blood clots can turn life-threatening and pointed to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ recent clot diagnosis. Flair apologized to fans and his agent for missing the Seattle fan convention. He said he would soon undergo a procedure to strip the affected vein. Sources said the clot issue had already stretched on for months.

Public figures have faced sudden medical scares before, as when Boy Meets World star Will Friedle headed to the hospital after spotting blood and learning he had a kidney stone.

Flair knows serious medical fights. In 2017 he nearly died after an intestinal rupture. He spent weeks in the ICU, part of that time in a medically induced coma, before he recovered.

Flair returns home with bandage and thanks hospital staff

Flair did not stay long. He was released and returned home. The New York Post reported he posted a photo Saturday showing a circular bandage over his right eye.

He thanked supporters and the medical team that treated him into the early morning hours.

Flair said:

"Thank you all for the messages and prayers! I will get back to you all individually as I get stronger. Thank you to Tampa General Hospital staff and doctors that put up with me until 4:30 a.m.. I appreciate you all and thank you for everything you did. I am focused on my healing and recovery right now, and I will be okay."

His daughter, Charlotte Flair, added a short public note of her own: he’s going to be okay.

Other sudden health crises have left families waiting on long recoveries, including a Kansas mother of four recovering after a suspected spider bite triggered surgery, liver failure, and weeks in the hospital.

How the fall will affect the planned vein-stripping procedure remains unclear. Flair said his focus now is simply getting stronger.

Wrestling has seen its share of hard medical news, from careers cut short to the loss of veterans such as WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk Jr.

Flair has already survived one brush with death. He is treating this latest scare the same way, by putting recovery first and refusing to pretend the risks are small.