Alan Hansen gives fans a boost as he is seen 'full of smiles' and playing golf at his local course weeks after being hospitalised with serious illness
Alan Hansen has given fans a boost after he was seen 'full of smiles' while playing golf at his local course in a sign that his health is improving.
The Liverpool legend was spotted enjoying a round of golf at a course near his home in Southport on Merseyside on Wednesday.
Pictures obtained by The Mirror show the former footballer smiling to himself, with his golf bag slung over his shoulder and later in deep concentration as he teed off.
One onlooker reportedly told the newspaper: 'He looked great, and was clearly enjoying himself. He was full of smiles.'
It is the first time the 69-year-old has been seen for the first time since he was admitted to hospital last month with a serious illness.
Alan Hansen (pictured) has given fans a boost after he is seen 'full of smiles' while playing golf at his local course in a sign that his health is improving
Hansen made 620 appearances for Liverpool between 1977 and 1991, winning many trophies
Liverpool announced on June 9 that Alan had been admitted to hospital with a serious illness, without going into any further details.
A few weeks later the club announced he had been discharged: 'Alan has been discharged from hospital today to continue his recovery at home.
'Alan, Janet, Adam, Lucy and family would like to thank everybody for their wonderful messages of love and support.
'It has been overwhelming and has helped enormously. We also hugely appreciate the ongoing respect that has been shown for our privacy as Alan continues his recovery.'
Hansen played for Liverpool between 1977 and 1991 and made 620 appearances for the club, while he won an array of trophies.
The former Scotland international was a pundit on Match of the Day from 1992 to 2014 during which time he presented the show with its current host Gary Lineker.
Lineker recently revealed that he received a phone call before Alan was discharge3d from hospital saying that it was going to be announced that he had died.
Lineker disclosed that shortly afterwards he was informed that the information regarding Hansen wasn't correct.
Hansen (right) worked on Match of the Day for 20 years, with Lineker (left) joining him as a host
Speaking on the Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker said: 'I got a text message yesterday from Janet Hansen, Alan's wife, saying that he'd been discharged from hospital, that he'd gone home.
'I also saw that Liverpool had put out a tweet saying exactly the same thing. What an amazing piece of news.'
Alan Shearer, who also worked alongside Hansen, said that it is 'great news' that Hansen has been discharged from hospital.
Shearer said: 'That was great wasn't it. You told us at breakfast that you had a text message, so that was a great start to the day.
'As usual Mr. Hansen's timing was impeccable so he could get home and watch his team, but unfortunately they didn't produce the goods for him, but great news that he's on the mend and he's back home.'
Commenting on the phone call that he received, Lineker said: 'I'm not going to share who this was but I got a call two weeks ago during the period when we knew Alan was really struggling from somebody asking me to come on and talk about the fact that it was about to be announced that Alan's left us.
'Genuinely, I broke down and then then an hour later people say, no, hang on a minute hang on a minute that's not quite the case, but he's pulled through and it's fantastic news.
'So hope you're listening Al. Yeah, well done. Well done mate. It's great to have you back with us.'
