Sylvester Stallone nearly died during the making of Rocky IV.

The 77-year-old actor recalled how doctors feared that he would be ‘talking to angels’ after he was badly injured by Dolph Lundgren – who played Rocky’s nemesis Ivan Drago in the 1985 film – when a fight scene went badly wrong.

Sly, who portrays Rocky Balboa in the sports drama series, had nuns praying for him in intensive care after Dolph ‘pulverized’ his heart with a punch.

Shocking: Sylvester Stallone has revealed he nearly died during the making of Rocky IV in 1985 and had nuns ‘praying’ for him after Dolph Lundgren punched his heart

Speaking ahead of the release of a new recut version of the film, Stallone said: ‘In the first round, where he knocked me down, that is for real.

‘He pulverized me and I did not feel it at that moment but later that night my heart started to swell.

‘He had bruised the perio cardio sac, which is when the heart hits the chest – like in a car accident when your chest hits the steering wheel.’

Stallone continued: ‘My blood pressure went up to 260. They thought I was going to be talking to angels.’

Hard times: The 77-year-old actor recalled how doctors feared that he would be ‘talking to angels’ after he was badly injured by Dolph Lundgren – who played Rocky’s nemesis Ivan Drago

Last year. he discussed the incident again, saying: ”Dolph Lundgren put me in the hospital for nine days. I knew I was in trouble when I showed up and nuns met you at the ICU.’

He explained that he told Lundgren to forget the choreography, saying: ‘Just go out there and try to clock me. For the first minute of the fight, it is going to be a free-for-all.’

Dolph also weighed in on the accident, saying: ‘All I did was obey orders. He was the boss. I did what he told me. We came back to L.A. and the producer was like, “Hey Dolph, you’ve got two weeks off — Sly’s in the hospital.”‘

Sly previously admitted that he was ‘furious’ not to receive a cut from the Rocky movies, despite the fact that he created the franchise and wrote the screenplay for the first six films.

The Rambo actor said: ‘I have zero ownership of Rocky. Every word, every syllable, every grammatical error was all my fault.

‘It was shocking that it never came to be, but I was told, ‘Hey, you got paid, so what are you complaining about?’ I was furious.’

However, Stallone was pleased that his iconic character gave him a ‘voice’.

Sly said: ‘It’s the only voice that I can say what I want without being ridiculed, or being silly, or being precious or sentimental, because he is that way.’

Stallone has been married to model Jennifer Flavin since 1997. Together they have three daughters: Sophia, 27, Sistine, 25, and Scarlet, 21, who all share the middle name of Rose.

Family man: Stallone has been married to model Jennifer Flavin since 1997. Together they have three daughters: Sophia, 27, Sistine, 25, and Scarlet, 21, who all share the middle name of Rose; seen in 2017