Former Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare is battling cancer.
The club announced on Thursday that their ex-boss, 59, was currently receiving ongoing treatment having recently been diagnosed.
Leicester added that Shakespeare was “very grateful for the kind well-wishes he has been receiving and for the privacy that he and his family have been shown during this challenging time”.
Leicester chief executive Susan Whelan said: “Everyone at the club sends their strength and support to Craig, his wife Karen and their children Elle and Jed.
“They will all be in our thoughts and prayers as Craig progresses with his treatment, surrounded by the love befitting his place in the hearts of the Leicester City family and the wider game.”
Experienced coach Shakespeare had two spells as an assistant manager at Leicester under Nigel Pearson, also serving many roles at West Brom - including caretaker boss - and working at Hull and with England after a 19-year playing career as a midfielder that began at Walsall in the early 1980s and took in further stints at Sheffield Wednesday, West Brom, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Telford and Hednesford Town.
Shakespeare became caretaker boss at then defending Premier League champions Leicester after the sacking of Claudio Ranieri in 2017 and was quickly appointed on a full-time basis after a superb run of form, memorably leading the Foxes past Sevilla and into the Champions League quarter-finals, where they were narrowly edged out by Atletico Madrid over two legs.
However, he was dismissed by Leicester in October 2017, just four months after signing a permanent three-year contract following a six-match winless run that left them in the top-flight relegation zone.
After leaving Leicester, Shakespeare later linked up with former England boss Sam Allardyce at Everton and also assisted Pearson and Dean Smith at Watford and Aston Villa respectively. He worked with Smith again at both Norwich and Leicester, departing the King Power Stadium for the fourth time following their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.
Everyone at Aston Villa is thinking of our former Assistant Head Coach Craig Shakespeare at this time.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) October 12, 2023
You have the full support of everyone at Villa Park and Bodymoor Heath, Craig. 💜 https://t.co/Wv9hFq48n7 pic.twitter.com/MRHDSOaKZY
News of Shakespeare’s cancer diagnosis has led to an outpouring of support from across English football, with Villa writing: “Everyone at Aston Villa is thinking of our former assistant head coach Craig Shakespeare at this time. You have the full support of everyone at Villa Park and Bodymoor Heath, Craig.”
We're with you, Craig ❤️ pic.twitter.com/QVHDaput93
— England (@England) October 12, 2023
England - with whom Shakespeare coached very briefly during Allardyce’s one-game stint in charge in 2016 - said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter: “We’re with you, Craig”.
Watford said: “Sending our best wishes to you and your family, Craig. We’re all with you!”
