Former Newcastle United boss Kenny Dalglish (69) has been hospitalised after contracting the coronavirus.

Dalglish was in charge at St James Park from January 1997 to August 1998, replacing Kevin Keegan and followed by Ruud Gullit.

Liverpool Football Club released a statement on behalf of the former player/manager’s family.

The statement comes following revelations that Sir Kenny Dalglish was in hospital for treatment on another matter and a routine test discovered he has the virus.

At the moment, the club revealed that he remained asymptomatic, expressing hope that he would not start showing signs of the virus presenting more of a threat to his health.

Dalglish had an eventful time in his 20 months at St James Park, including an FA Cup final in 1998 (see photo above) and that 3-2 win over Barcelona in 1997. Taking over Keegan’s team, he impressed when guiding Newcastle to the runners-up spot in his first four months in the job, only to nosedive to 13th the following season.

As well as making a number of shockingly bad signings, Kenny Dalglish also brought the likes of Shay Given, Nobby Solano and Gary Speed to St James Park.

Said the club:

The Dalglish family have tonight released the following statement to supporters regarding Sir Kenny Dalglish.

Sir Kenny was admitted to hospital on Wednesday April 8 for treatment of an infection which required intravenous antibiotics.

In keeping with current procedures, he was subsequently tested for COVID-19 despite having previously displayed no symptoms of the illness. Unexpectedly, the test result was positive but he remains asymptomatic.

Prior to his admission to hospital, Sir Kenny had chosen to voluntarily self-isolate for longer than the advised period together with his family. He would urge everyone to follow the relevant government and expert guidance in the days and weeks ahead.

He would like to take this opportunity to thank the brilliant NHS staff, whose dedication, bravery and sacrifice should be the focus of the nation’s attention at this extraordinary time.

He would also ask that they are given the space to do their jobs during what is an extremely challenging time for them and that his own family’s privacy is respected.

He looks forward to being home soon. We will provide further updates as and when it is appropriate.’-Online