Former Celtic striker Frank McGarvey has been diagnosed with cancer, his family have confirmed via social media.
His sons posted messages on their Twitter accounts confirming that their father, aged 66, had been diagnosed with the disease on Thursday.
Unfortunately our Dad received a cancer diagnosis yesterday and we are waiting on more information from the experts. Will update here when we know more. Thanks for all the support and well wishes. Paul, Sean Scott and Jennifer
— Sean McGarvey (@Seannyho) October 7, 2022
Unfortunately our Dad received a cancer diagnosis yesterday and we are waiting on more information from the experts. Will update here when we know more. Thanks for all the support and well wishes. Paul, Sean, Scott and Jennifer.
— Scott McGarvey (@scottmcgarvey1) October 7, 2022
Born in Glasgow, his professional career began in the ranks of St Mirren. A positive spell attracted the eye of Liverpool supremo Bob Paisley, who signed the Glaswegian for a fee of £270,000 in May 1979.
He'd struggle to break into the first team at Merseyside, eventually making the move to his boyhood club Celtic for the same fee, briefly becoming Scotland's most expensive footballer.
McGarvey represented Celtic 168 times, registering 78 goals and winning two domestic league titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup.
His last game for the club was the 1985 Scottish Cup final against Dundee United, where he scored the winner in the 2-1 victory at Hampden Park.
He also lined out seven times for Scotland, making his debut as a late substitute in a Home International Championship game against Northern Ireland at Hampden Park in May 1979.
The thoughts of everyone at #CelticFC are with Frank McGarvey and his family at this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/YzsFv11k0N
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 8, 2022
