Damien Delaney has recalled how Roy Keane visited him in hospital after he suffered a freak injury in trainng.
The defender played under Keane at Ipswich and ended up with a blood clot in his leg after colliding with Grant Leadbitter in pre-season training in 2010.
Delaney says his then manager was "probably the last person" he wanted to see, but Keane arrived in with a copy of George Hook's autobiography as a gift.
Delaney told the Second Captains Podcast: “The surgeon said, ‘Listen, there’s still so much swelling that we couldn’t close it up’.
“I’ve got this zipper belt scar from my hip to my knee. I had 100 staples put in at the backend of it.
“I’m lying in hospital on all these plastic sheets. Roy comes to see me - he’s probably the last person I wanted to come in. He sits down and I’m looking at him going, ‘Ah, Jesus’ but he was fine - he can be very personable and amiable.
“He gave me a book. It was George Hook’s autobiography! I didn’t even know who George Hook was. I had to Google him!
“He stayed for a period of time. It was the first time, I’d say, that we’d had a chat. He handed me the book and he was gone.
“I’d say he was probably walking out of the house and had a spare book lying on the bookshelf, picked it up and went ‘I’d better bring him something’.”
Delaney previously revealed how Keane used to 'destroy' him after games when he was Ipswich manager.
Keane stated in his book how he regretted the way he spoke to fellow Cork native Delaney when in charge at the English club.
Former Republic of Ireland footballer Delaney said that was the closest he ever got to an apology from the Manchester United great.
He told Off The Ball: "It is as probably close to an apology that you get from him! he probably wouldn't say sorry for anything - but it's fine, man.
"He did what he thought was correct at the time and he managed the way that he thought was correct, and I was on the end of a lot of it... an awful lot of it, if I'm honest with you.
"It wasn't fine at the time, as it grinds you down. I have laughed when people said this before - but if Roy Keane has said he was too hard on you, can you imagine what I had to go through?
"It was tough enough and he did used to favour coming for me. But again, you try and take it on the chin and focus on the game."
"The only thing that kept me going was that he picked me. If a manager is having a go at you and you're not in the team, or even worse he is not talking to you and not picking you, then he doesn't think very much of you.
"But I think I played nigh-on every game for him, bar a game or two here and there when I was banished for a mistake. But nigh-on every game.
"That is the only thing that consoled me: he can't think I'm that bad because he's picking me. So he would destroy me after a game, not speak to me for a week, and then named the team on the Saturday and I'd be in it!"
