Jimmy Greaves told he ‘won’t walk again’ but Tottenham legend vows to keep fighting after surviving stroke

1/28
Sam Long28 February 2016

Jimmy Greaves has revealed he has been told by doctors that he ‘won’t walk again’ after suffering a stroke last May.

The Tottenham and England legend, 76, was admitted to hospital last summer before regaining consciousness, though the former striker was unable to speak.

Nine months on, Greaves continues his road to recovery, but admits he has been left ‘devastated’ by the news, but will always continue the fight.

“I remain in a wheelchair and it’s now likely I will stay this way for the rest of my life,” Greaves told the Sunday People.

“The doctors have told me I won’t walk again and that I will always need ongoing care.

“It was devastating to hear them say that but I will never stop trying to get better - and the main thing is that I’m still here fighting all the way.”

Greaves is regarded as one of the greatest English goalscorers of all time - he scored 44 goals in 57 games for his country and also netted a club-record 266 times in 379 matches for Tottenham.

"Jimmy was just a genius. A great guy, a fantastic footballer and an amazing goalscorer in that great Tottenham team of the 1960s. "

&#13; <p>Harry Redknapp, in his Evening Standard column</p>&#13;

After retiring from the game, Greaves co-hosted the popular Saturday lunchtime football show Saint and Greavsie alongside former Liverpool forward Ian St John.

The ex-Tottenham, Chelsea and West Ham star suffered a minor stroke in 2012, but appeared to have made a full recovery.

“My day-to-day life has changed quite considerably, but there’s no point asking, ‘Why me?’, Greaves continued.

“I’m not feeling sorry for myself, I’m just taking each day as it comes and trying to make small improvements all the time.

Jimmy Greaves plays golf with fellow members of England's 1966 World Cup squad
Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

“If I can lift my arm that little bit ­further than before, that’s an ­improvement and I can take heart from that.

“My speech has come on a lot and I can communicate on the phone now.

“I’m watching a lot of sport on the TV and I get out of the house with my sons Andy and Danny whenever I can. You have to focus on the positives.

“I’ve still got my sense of humour and I’ve got my family all around me helping me all of the time. There are a lot of people I have to thank, but especially my family.

“They’ve supported me all the way and I couldn’t have got this far without them. I’m realistic about the future but I’ll never give up trying to improve.

“I still have a belief and a hope that I can keep getting better.”

Greaves was due to be inducted to Tottenham’s hall of fame last May, but the event was postponed due to his health. The ceremony will now take place on April 20th, alongside fellow icon Steve Perryman.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in