• e-mail

Tottenham and England hero Jimmy Greaves has returned home after spending a week in hospital near his home in Chelmsford.

Greaves is 80 and has struggled with his health since he had a stroke in 2015.

He requires professional care four times a day and his nurses were concerned by his condition when they attended his home in Essex on Tuesday, April 7 and called for an ambulance which took him to hospital in nearby Chelmsford. He did not have any symptoms associated with coronavirus.

Tottenham and England legend Jimmy Greaves is home after spending a week in hospital 

Greaves, 80, has struggled with his health since he had a stroke back in 2015

But his son Andy has revealed that the legendary striker has recovered enough to return home.

He said: 'Mum was delighted to welcome Dad home last night (Tuesday) and we can't thank the doctors and nurses, and all the NHS staff who cared for him, enough.

'He hasn't been a well man for some time but the way he keeps fighting everything that comes at him continues to make us proud.

'As well as all those who have cared for Dad in the past week, and in the past five years, we would like to thank the public for their support.

'Dad has been touched by all the messages we have been able to pass on — it means a lot to him and to us as a family.'

Greaves scored 44 goals in 57 games for England and was a key figure in the 1966 World Cup

 His record of 357 goals in the top flight of English football remains untouched 49 years later

Greaves is English football’s greatest goalscorer with 357 goals in Division One, a top-flight record which remains untouched almost 49 years after he retired as a player.

He is Tottenham’s record scorer, he scored 44 goals in 57 games for England and was a key figure in the World Cup squad in 1966 although he was injured in the group stage and did not play in the final.

Greaves, who also played for Chelsea, AC Milan and West Ham, remained one of the nation’s best-loved personalities after his retirement when he conquered problems with alcohol and forged a new career as a TV pundit and presenter.