Former Tottenham Hotspur and England striker Jimmy Greaves faces a “long, slow” recovery after suffering a severe stroke, his wife Irene said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The 75-year-old Greaves, who scored 44 goals for England and also played for Chelsea, AC Milan and West Ham United, was left in intensive care after the stroke on Sunday.
“Jimmy is having to do what he is told, and understands the seriousness of what has happened to him,” his wife said in a statement. “It is going to be a long, slow road to recovery and he is in the best possible hands.
“On behalf of Jimmy and our family, we would like to thank the many thousands of you who have voiced your support and concern.
“We would greatly appreciate it if the media would allow us privacy for what is going to be a long period of rehabilitation.”
News of Greaves’s ill health prompted an outpouring of support from within the football community, with former England strikers Geoff Hurst and Gary Lineker joining Spurs, Chelsea and West Ham in wishing him well.
Greaves is Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer with 266 goals in 379 games and scored more league goals (366) than any other player in Europe’s five major championships (England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France).
He played for England at two World Cups, but injury prevented him from playing in the 1966 final on home soil, when Hurst scored a hat-trick in a 4-2 win over West Germany to give England their one and only World Cup.
Greaves suffered a minor stroke in 2012, but was thought to have made a full recovery.
He had been due to be indicted into the Tottenham Hall of Fame in a sell-out ceremony at White Hart Lane on May 13.