Former England captain Ray Wilkins is in a critical condition in a London hospital following a heart attack.
“Ray Wilkins is currently being treated at St George’s Hospital, and his condition is critical,” the hospital said on its official twitter feed on Saturday.
“His family have asked for privacy at this time, and we are tweeting this update with their agreement.”
His wife was quoted as saying he had suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be put in an induced coma.
The 61 year-old Wilkins won 84 caps for England between 1976 and 1986.
He played more than 150 times for each of Chelsea, Manchester United and Queen’s Park Rangers, with shorter spells abroad for AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain.
In a 20-year coaching career he was manager of QPR, Fulham and the Jordan national team, and assistant manager in two spells at Chelsea.
Ray’s wife, Jackie, told the Mirror newspaper: “He’s in hospital, he’s had a cardiac arrest and is in intensive care.
“He’s not in a good state at all, I’m afraid. He’s critically ill.
“The cardiac arrest led to a fall which has meant he’s had to be put in an induced come. It’s very, very bad.”
Wilkins had carried out media duties on Talksport and Sky Sports – he is a regular on both platforms – shortly before.
Carlo Ancelotti, under whom Wilkins worked at Stamford Bridge, once described him as having “real blue blood”.
Following the reports Chelsea tweeted:
During his career as a player, he won the FA Cup with Manchester United in 1983 and the Scottish title with Rangers in 1989.
Additional reporting by PA