Watch Sky Sports' hilarious tribute to Jeff Stelling after Hartlepool United president undergoes procedure
And that injury – of which the causes are unknown – has led to Stelling sitting out this weekend’s edition of Soccer Saturday, which he usually presents on Sky Sports News.
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Hide AdBut the panel of pundits haven’t forgotten the former Hartlepool Mail man and sent a hilarious tribute to Stelling at the start of this weekend’s show.
They drew inspiration from Premier League side Manchester City, who showed their support for injured defender Aymeric Laporte earlier this week by warming-up in shirts emblazoned with his name.
And that saw Matt Le Tissier, Paul Merson, Phil Thompson and Dion Dublin all decked out in Hartlepool United shirts with ‘JEFF 1’ printed on the reverse.
Presenter Julian Warren, standing in for Stelling, said: “In Manchester City’s warm-up, the players wore t-shirts to let their absent friend Aymeric Laporte know that they were thinking of him.
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Hide Ad“So today, as we warm-up for kick-off, our team thought that they would do the same.
“So Jeff, this is for you.”
He then joked: “That’s a lovely touch – that was heartfelt, wasn’t it?”
You can watch the full tribute from Sky Sports above.