Newcastle United and Man City legend’s message to familiar foe and Man Utd hero van der Sar after health news

Newcastle United legend Shay Given has added his voice to those wishing former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar well after a major health update.

The Dutchman, who is widely considered one of the Premier League's greatest-ever shot-stoppers, suffered a bleed on the brain while on a family holiday in Croatia earlier this month.

On Friday, July 7 the 52-year-old was airlifted to a hospital in Split and rushed into intensive care. Updates on van der Sar's progress had been provided by his wife and former club Ajax but now the star has penned his own message online.

Writing on Twitter and Instagram from a hospital in the Netherlands, van der Sar said: "First of all, we want to thank everyone for all the great and supportive messages. I’m happy to share that I’m no longer in the intensive care unit. However, I’m still in hospital. I hope to go home next week and take the next step in my recovery!"

Famous names from across the sport flocked to the comments to welcome the good news and wish the former Ajax CEO well on his recovery, one of whom is a famous former Magpie.

Given, who made 463 appearances for Newcastle United, faced van der Sar both for Newcastle United and in the Manchester derby when playing at Manchester City.

The Irishman has been an outspoken admirer of van der Sar, praising his confidence as an inspiration for Tim Krul when arriving in the Premier League. Welcoming his health update, Given wrote: "Amazing news, best wishes for full recovery."

Meanwhile, Patrice Evra sent his love to a former colleague he considers 'family' while Rio Ferdinand and Kasper Schmeichel also shared well-wishes in the comments.

Phil Neville and Dutchmen Donny van de Beek and Davy Klassen were also present in the comments of the social media posts, as were Ruud van Nistelrooy and Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech wrote: "Get well soon! Great to see you doing better."

Ex Liverpool shot-stopper Jerzy Dudek added: "Great to see you. Best recovery friend."