Gary Mabbutt has told The Sun that doctors carried out a five-hour operation to save his left leg after complications arose from his diabetes.
The former Spurs captain, now 53, said he had been left with a 30 inch scar after the surgery at King's College Hospital, London, in 2013.
#Spurs legend Gary Mabbutt has had a Five hour op to save his leg. Exclusive picture here: http://t.co/a2MsB08rMQ pic.twitter.com/Q1615gUkAW
- News Syndication (@NewsSyndication) April 7, 2015
Speaking to raise awareness of the effects of diabetes, he said he had woken up in the early hours of the morning to find that his leg was cold.
Doctors discovered that his diabetes, first diagnosed when he was 17, had led to a clogged artery and triggered the equivalent of a heart attack in his leg.
Surgeons replaced the main artery with a vein, using 112 staples to seal the incision.
#INSERT type:image caption:Gary Mabbutt, pictured with former Spurs teammate Paul Gascoigne in 2011. END#
The surgery meant Mabbutt was unable to fulfil his ambition of moving into coaching or management, and he said: "When they talked about battling to save my leg, I realised I was helpless.
"As a diabetic you know complications can occur. But you think: 'It's never going to happen to me.'"
Diabetes causes 8,000 amputations per year in the UK, but doctors say many of these could be prevented.
And Mabbutt said: "It is vital to educate everyone with diabetes how to take care of themselves.
"If you have anything unusual with your feet, tingly toes, blisters, see your doctor."