Trevor Francis recovering well after shock heart attack

Trevor Francis, the first player to command a £1 million transfer fee, is recovering in hospital after suffering a shock heart attack yesterday.

The 57-year old was admitted to Birmingham Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green yesterday after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest and has subsequently undergone surgery to have a stent fitted.

Francis is said to be making good progress after the operation and his family have contacted his former club Birmingham City to thank fans for their support.

A message posted on Birmingham’s official Twitter account earlier this morning read: "Trevor Francis' family have contacted the club to express their thanks at the overwhelming messages of support from Blues fans."

Francis became the first £1 million player in English football when he joined Nottingham Forest from Birmingham in 1979. He scored the winning goal for Forest in their 1979 European Cup win over Malmo, but missed out on their appearance in the final the following year when they lost out to Hamburg.

Francis went on to play for Man City, Rangers, QPR, Sheffield Wednesday, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Wollogong City in a career that was well-travelled to say the least. He also scored 12 goals in 52 appearances for England over a ten-year period.

After he hung up his boots, Francis became a manager and took charge of three of the sides he had turned out for in his playing career – Birmingham, QPR and Sheffield Wednesday – as well as a spell with Crystal Palace at the turn of the millennium.

More recently, he has been working as a football pundit for Sky Sports and Al-Jazeera. Gary Lineker was one of numerous former team-mates and colleagues of Francis who expressed their well wishes upon hearing the news last night.

The Match of the Day host, who played with Francis for England, tweeted: "Shocked to hear Trevor Francis has suffered a heart attack. Thoughts are with him and his family #getwellTrevor."