Gary Lineker reveals the phone call he received prematurely announcing Alan Hansen's death - before his old colleague, 69, recovered from serious illness to be discharged from hospital

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Gary Lineker has revealed that he received a phone call two weeks ago saying that it was going to be announced that Alan Hansen had died.

Former Liverpool star Hansen, 69, who worked alongside Lineker on Match of the Day, was discharged from hospital on Sunday two weeks after being admitted.

On June 9 it was confirmed that Hansen was seriously ill in hospital.

During that period, Lineker received a phone call saying that Hansen's death would soon be announced and stated that he 'broke down' following the news.

Lineker disclosed that shortly afterwards he was informed that the information regarding Hansen wasn't correct.  

Gary Lineker received a phone call two weeks ago saying Alan Hansen's death would be announced

Hansen (right) worked on Match of the Day for 20 years, with Lineker (left) joining him as a host

Speaking on the Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker said: 'I got a text message yesterday from Janet Hansen, Alan's wife, saying that he'd been discharged from hospital, that he'd gone home. I also saw that Liverpool had put out a tweet saying exactly the same thing. What an amazing piece of news.'

Alan Shearer, who also worked alongside Hansen, said that it is 'great news' that Hansen has been discharged from hospital.  

Shearer said: 'That was great wasn't it. You told us at breakfast that you had a text message, so that was a great start to the day. As usual Mr. Hansen's timing was impeccable so he could get home and watch his team, but unfortunately they didn't produce the goods for him, but great news that he's on the mend and he's back home.'

Commenting on the phone call that he received, Lineker said: 'I'm not going to share who this was but I got a call two weeks ago during the period when we knew Alan was really struggling from somebody asking me to come on and talk about the fact that it was about to be announced that Alan's left us. 

'Genuinely, I broke down and then then an hour later people say, no, hang on a minute hang on a minute that's not quite the case, but he's pulled through through, and it's fantastic news. So hope you're listening Al. Yeah, well done. Well done mate. It's great to have you back with us.'

Hansen made 620 appearances for Liverpool between 1977 and 1991, winning many trophies

In a statement on Sunday, Liverpool wrote: 'Alan has been discharged from hospital today to continue his recovery at home.

'Alan, Janet, Adam, Lucy and family would like to thank everybody for their wonderful messages of love and support.

'It has been overwhelming and has helped enormously. We also hugely appreciate the ongoing respect that has been shown for our privacy as Alan continues his recovery.' 

Hansen played for Liverpool between 1977 and 1991 and made 620 appearances for the club, while he won an array of trophies. 

The former Scotland international was a pundit on Match of the Day from 1992 to 2014.