Alan Hansen health update: He sounded fabulous, says Graeme Souness
Graeme Souness (left) with Alan Hansen (right) and Sir Kenny Dalglish in December last year - PA/David Davies
Alan Hansen’s health has significantly improved, according to former club and international team-mate Graeme Souness.
Hansen was taken ill last week, but his close friend Souness delivered a positive update during his Talksport radio show on Monday morning.
“I spoke to him yesterday and he sounded fabulous so I hope that’s him on the way to a full recovery,” said Souness. “I’ve been speaking to his son and Janet, his wife, and I’ve been phoning his phone.
“I got on the train on Sunday and I was looking for my seat and my phone rang and I could see it was big Al.
“I was thinking ‘Oh no, don’t answer that’. So I sat down and got the courage to phone back and he answered the phone.
“He’s definitely back because he did nothing but take the mickey out of me.
“He’s been in a difficult place but the way he sounded yesterday, he’s back, and I hope I’m right.”
Concerns for Hansen’s health grew after Liverpool issued a statement on behalf of the Anfield legend and his family, reporting that he was “seriously ill” and receiving hospital treatment.
There were more upbeat bulletins circulating in the days that followed, but Souness’s are the first public comments from someone close to Hansen and his family.
The news has been received with relief across the football community.
As well as being one of Liverpool’s greatest ever players – Hansen would be one of the first names on all-time Kop XI – following his retirement as a player the Scot established himself as a pioneer in the modern age of more analytical football punditry. He was a mainstay on the BBC’s flagship football show Match of the Day and was a Daily Telegraph columnist for 15 years before stepping away from media work in 2014.
Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles - and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.