Liverpool legend Ian Rush in hospital after being placed in intensive care with horror flu
Liverpool hero Ian Rush, 64, is recovering in hospital after being rushed into the ICU last week due to struggles breathing with what is thought to be 'superflu'
by Felix Keith · The MirrorIan Rush is reportedly recovering having been rushed into hospital last week with difficulty breathing.
The 64-year-old former Liverpool striker was admitted to the Countess of Chester, according to the Daily Mail.
He was sent straight to the intensive care unit upon arrival, where he spent 48 hours. Rush remains at the hospital, although he is now understood to be doing better and is expected to be home for Christmas.
Rush is said to be in 'good spirits' after the scary incident, which is thought to be linked with the 'superflu' outbreak currently sweeping across England.
Flu has been causing chaos at hospitals across the country, with an average of 2,660 patients per day being admitted in England last week – the highest ever for this time of year and up 55 per cent on the week before.
"This unprecedented wave of super flu is leaving the NHS facing a worst-case scenario for this time of year," Professor Meghana Pandit, national medical director at the NHS, told BBC News this week.
"The numbers of patients in hospital with flu is extremely high for this time of year. Even worse, it continues to rise and the peak is not in sight yet, so the NHS faces an extremely challenging few weeks ahead."
Health secretary Wes Streeting told LBC on Friday that the current situation was "probably the worst pressure the NHS has faced since Covid" and warned of a "double whammy", with flu cases rising at the same time as a doctors' strike, which is due to start on December 17.
Flu has come earlier than usual this year, with experts warning of a new mutated version of the virus which is harder to treat.
Rush is a Liverpool legend, having scored 346 goals for the club over two spells. He is the club's all-time leading goalscorer and also has 73 caps and 28 goals for Wales.
He was a key part of Liverpool's success in the 1980s, helping the club win five league titles, three FA Cups, five League Cups and two European Cups. Rush was awarded an MBE in 1996 for services to football.
The former striker remains an ambassador at Liverpool, who face Brighton at Anfield in a Premier League match on Saturday afternoon. As well as Liverpool, he played for Chester City, Juventus, Leeds, Newcastle and Wrexham.
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