Everton Legend On The Mend.

EVERTON legend Dave Hickson has vowed he will be back at Goodison Park for the visit of Fulham next weekend – after spending more than a month in Chester Hospital.

The 82-year-old, who made 243 appearances for the Blues and still works at the ground on matchdays, was admitted to hospital with a blood disorder after the victory over Blackpool on February 5.

He came out this week and declared: “I’ll be back at Goodison for the Fulham match but I think I’ll only be watching this one rather than working!

“But I’ll be back working again as soon as I can. The blood disorder caused problems with my ankles which meant I couldn’t walk around properly. They wanted me to use a zimmer but I told them ‘you can take that away’ I’ll be fine on my own.”

Hickson’s courage and endeavour is legendary.

He famously returned to the field during an FA Cup fifth round tie against Manchester United in 1953 after suffering a serious head wound and losing a quantity of blood.

He scored the winning goal – one of 111 he registered during his Everton career.

He is one of the few players to have also played for all three major Merseyside clubs, Everton, Liverpool and Tranmere Rovers.

But he once claimed in an interview: “I would have broke every bone in my body for any other club, but I would have died for this club.”

That claim almost became a self-fulfilling prophecy when on November 24 2007, Hickson suffered a suspected heart attack while on duty before Everton’s Premier League match against Sunderland.

Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright, who idolised Hickson as a player, aborted plans to watch the game after travelling up from London and rode in an ambulance with his close friend.