Birmingham Heartlands Hospital have confirmed the 57-year-old has been released, having recovered well from successful surgery.

A hospital spokesperson said: "Trevor Francis was discharged from Birmingham Heartlands Hospital this afternoon."

The news will come as welcome relief not just to Francis' family but to the footballing world, who have shown their support over the weekend.

Legendary

Francis earned legendary status with Birmingham, the club where he starred between 1970 and 1979 before becoming Britain's first £1million player when he joined Nottingham Forest.

He went on to score the winning goal for Forest in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmo, subsequently helping the team reach the 1980 final against Hamburg although he missed the victory through injury.

Francis left Forest in 1981 and enjoyed spells with Manchester City, Sampdoria, Atalanta and Rangers.

He won 52 England caps and represented his country at the 1982 World Cup, later enjoying player/manager stints with QPR and Sheffield Wednesday.

The Plymouth-born forward returned to Birmingham as manager in 1996 and led the club to three play-off semi-finals as well as the 2001 League Cup final, which they lost to Liverpool on penalties.

After leaving St Andrew's in 2001, Francis had a two-year spell as manager of Crystal Palace and has since worked extensively as a television pundit.