A stellar line-up of former Ireland and Liverpool greats will take to the pitch at the Aviva Stadium on April 12 in a major fund-raising game for Sean Cox, the Irish Reds supporter who suffered life-changing injuries after an unprovoked assault before the Champions League game against Roma at Anfield last April.
Mick McCarthy has agreed to manage a Republic of Ireland XI against a Liverpool FC Legends team, and among those set to line out – some for both sides – will be such household names as Robbie Keane, Robbie Fowler, Jason McAteer, John Aldridge, Phil Babb, Lee Carsley, Ian Rush and Jerzy Dudek.
Speaking about her husband at the launch of the match and an associated gala dinner in Dublin, Martina Cox said: “Sean has made encouraging progress in the last couple of months. He can do things now that he wouldn’t have been able to do a couple of months ago.
"He can talk a little, he has more movement than he did have.
We don’t know if he will walk again but we’re encouraging him every step of the way.
"But he will need a huge amount of rehabilitation going forward. Sean needs the best and we have to make sure we get the best for him.”
Said former Liverpool and Ireland legend Jason McAteer: “I’ve met the family and seen behind the scenes the devastation that has been caused. It’s just terrible. No-one should go to a football match and end up in this situation.
"At Liverpool, we’ve had our fair share of tragedies as a football club and we’ve always seemed to pull together and show solidarity and make sure that everybody is okay.
"It’s a family club and the least we can do as former players is come over and support the Sean Cox Rehabilitation Trust and raise as much money as we can.”
Tickets for the game go on general sale through Ticketmaster on February 14.
Sean Cox's wife Martina and his son Jack with former Liverpool players Jason McAteer, left, and Ian Rush, right, at the launch of the Liverpool Legends v Republic of Ireland XI game at the Aviva Stadium. Pic: Sportsfile
