Roy Hodgson's worrying health scare, shock management return at 78 and wife's honest opinion

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English football has regained one of its greatest servants after Roy Hodgson made his coaching comeback this week. And the game is all the better for having one of the brightest managerial minds of the past 30 years back.

The former England , Liverpool and Inter Milan chief has signed on to lead Bristol City as interim boss for the rest of this season. And it will be his job to help salvage some success from the campaign after the Robins started this term in such bright fashion.

Hodgson has taken over the team as a short-term replacement for Gerhard Struber, who was fired on Friday. Bristol City sit 16th in the Championship with only a handful of games remaining, though the play-off places aren't mathematically out of reach just yet.

The development has come as a particular shock after Hodgson appeared to retire for good when he left Crystal Palace a little more than two years ago. However, Mirror Football takes a look at some of the signs suggesting he would struggle to keep his distance from football for long.

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Hodgson's last deployment at Selhurst Park came to an unfortunate end after he was taken ill during a training session in February 2024 . He was accompanied to the hospital by Palace chairman Steve Parish in a move that prompted his replacement.

"Following news that Roy Hodgson was taken ill during today’s ­training session, we can confirm that he is now stable and is currently undergoing tests in hospital," read a Palace statement at the time. “Everybody at the club sends their best wishes to Roy for a speedy recovery."

It wasn't long before confirmation arrived that Hodgson was in a stable condition, though further details on the health scare were scant. Nonetheless, Hodgson soon stepped down from his role as manager and was replaced by Oliver Glasner , who was among those tipped to replace him at the time if he was fired anyway.

As a result, it was widely assumed Hodgson was retired from the job after such a frightening episode. That was until a certain Championship admirer with a lot still to play for this season came calling.

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Bristol City have demonstrated their taste by appointing Hodgson on a short-term deal until the end of the season. The Robins may be 12 points off the play-off spots with only seven games to play but it's hardly mission impossible just yet.

After two years out of the game, there are valid questions to be asked as to whether the ex-West Brom and Watford chief is still up to the task. However, the club clearly has faith in his ability to make an impact in numerous areas of the club during his short-term spell.

"Roy’s appointment is about more than the results of the next seven games," said Bristol City's chief executive officer, Charlie Boss, in a statement announcing Hodgson's arrival. "Over the remainder of the season, he will help us set the standards and values at the club that we will need to be successful going forwards.

"Roy is a vastly experienced coach who has achieved and won at the highest level. He will support me, our players and our football staff as we build towards achieving our potential. We are in the process of appointing a sporting director who will have a direct input into the recruitment of a new permanent head coach."

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Amid the chaos that comes with a return to coaching at 78, one who will be feeling its impact the most is Hodgson's wife of more than 50 years, Sheila. However, it was actually his better half who helped convince him to return to the sport the first time he packed it in.

After a disappointing Euro 2016 campaign, Hodgson stepped down as England manager and went into hibernation for a year. He took over boyhood club Palace in 2017 and enjoyed a particularly bright spell in charge, which may never have come to fruition were it not for Sheila's encouragement.

"We’ve been married 46 years," said Hodgson in 2018 when discussing his wife and the move back into football. "There have been moments when we have discussed that together. There have been moments when we’ve thought, well, is this the moment now to do something else?

"Well, we tried that for a year. And she came to the conclusion that she better let me back in for a little bit longer."