Ian Rush recovering after being hospitalised with flu – UK Times

Former Liverpool football legend Ian Rush is recovering in hospital after two days in the intensive care unit for a bad case of flu.

The 64-year-old was taken to Countess of Chester hospital last week after suffering breathing difficulties but is now on the mend.

A Liverpool spokesperson thanked staff at the hospital for “providing the best care possible” and said “everyone at Liverpool wishes him a speedy recovery”.

Following a highly successful playing career with the Reds, Rush currently works as an ambassador for Liverpool and regularly attends matches at Anfield.

He is Liverpool’s all-time leading goalscorer, and during two spells at the club in the 1980s scored 346 goals in 660 appearances, winning five First Division titles and two European Cups.

Born in Wales, Rush also earned 73 caps for his national team and was their leading goalscorer until 2018, with 28 goals, until Gareth Bale broke his record.

After hanging up his boots in 2000, Rush moved into management and had an eight-month spell in charge of Chester.

NHS England have warned that Flu cases are soaring across the UK with an average of 2,660 patients per day admitted to hospital with flu in England last week.

That is the highest for this time of year since records began in 2021, and is up 55% on the week before.

Additionally, children’s operations are being cancelled because paediatric intensive care units across the country are full as a result of the severe spike in flu cases.

Dr Vicky Price, president of the Society of Acute Medicine, told The Independent: “It is truly shocking, it is the worst I’ve ever seen it… There are huge numbers of patients lodged in emergency departments, stuck in corridors, in waiting rooms and in inappropriate areas – all very unwell patients, and we’ve got high numbers of staff off sick with flu.

“We were in crisis anyway with the cold weather, and we noticed a real surge in flu.”