Francis' family thankful to fans

Trevor Francis' family have thanked the public for their "overwhelming messages of support" after the former England striker suffered a suspected heart attack.

The 57-year-old is recovering after being admitted to Birmingham Heartlands Hospital in Bordesley Green on Friday.

A tweet from his former club Birmingham (on Saturday) read: "Trevor Francis' family have contacted the club to express their thanks at the overwhelming messages of support from Blues fans."

The club said on Friday they had been told Francis had undergone surgery to have a stent fitted and that he had made good progress. Francis starred for Blues from 1970-79 before becoming the first £1million player when he joined Nottingham Forest. He later managed City between 1996 and 2001.

Another of Francis' former clubs, Sheffield Wednesday, also expressed their best wishes, and a tweet from the South Yorkshire club read: "All at Sheffield Wednesday would like to wish former player and manager Trevor Francis a speedy recovery."

Francis guided the Owls to the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1993 after taking over as player-manager at Hillsborough.

Mark Bright, a member of that Wednesday team, tweeted: "I'm stunned to hear that my former #swfc manager Trevor Francis is in hospital after suffering a heart attack. #getwellSoon."

Former England team-mate Gary Lineker also used Twitter to convey his thoughts.

Lineker said: "Shocked to hear Trevor Francis has suffered a heart attack. Thoughts are with him and his family #getwellTrevor."

Mick Rathbone, a former Birmingham team-mate, said on Friday night: "Just heard bad news about Trevor Francis.... spoke to him at length last sat... best player in england in late seventies #getwellsoon."