Jose Enrique has hailed Liverpool’s fans for their support as he recovers from surgery to remove a rare form of brain tumour.
The former Reds left-back has been overwhelmed by the messages of support from well-wishers.
He told Liverpoolfc.com : “The fans have been amazing. It was impossible to reply because there were thousands and thousands of them!
“I’m glad you called me as well because I cannot thank them enough. Every day I receive messages and I want to tell people that I read them. The support has been amazing.”
The 32-year-old, who made 99 appearances for Liverpool, scoring two goals, between 2011-16, reveals he was also boosted by greetings from his former Anfield team-mates.
He said: “I can’t thank them enough and this is an opportunity to say thanks to the club.
“Jordan Henderson sent me a text as well; he was at the World Cup focusing on that and he still texted me to wish me good luck, that was nice for me.
“A lot of my ex-team-mates, like Dejan Lovren, also contacted me. It gives you a little bit more strength.
“My Liverpool team-mates know I’m always a positive person, always laughing, always joking, but it doesn’t mean I’m not in a bad time.”
Enrique also explained the nature of his condition and spoke of his positive hopes for the future.
He said: “A doctor came and said, ‘I don’t want to scare you – I know the word tumour everyone thinks cancer and it’s going to spread everywhere and you’re going to die, it’s not that’.
“It was a tumour near the nerves of my left eye and that’s why I wasn’t seeing properly.
“It’s not normal, this type of tumour, normally you have it on the back or the spine, it was more or less one person in a million could have this. [The doctor] said it cannot spread but it’s very aggressive and I could have had it since I was young or even since I was born.
“It wasn’t cancerous but it was in a place that is very dangerous because it has main arteries and veins just behind it.”
