London: Former England batsman James Taylor has had an operation to fit a defribillator as he continues treatment for the heart condition that dramatically cut short his cricket career.

In April, Taylor was forced into retirement at the age of just 26 after being diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC).

The condition means he can no longer take part in strenuous exercise, and following an initial course of treatment he has been fitted with a 'life vest' or external defibrillator – to prevent any recurrence of the problem.

Taylor tweeted a picture of himself in hospital on Wednesday after surgery.

"Well, that was the best sleep ever??" he wrote.

"At the bottom of a very steep hill, I can't wait to see the view from the top!"

Taylor played his seventh and final Test against South Africa at Centurion in January, and was preparing for the new season with Nottinghamshire when he began to feel unwell in the Midlands county's opening first-class fixture against a Cambridge student team at Fenner's.