MARTIN O’NEILL HAS wished Liam Miller well in his battle with pancreatic cancer.
News emerged last night that the ex-Ireland midfielder has returned home to Cork to receive treatment for the illness, and several former team-mates of the 36-year-old have since come out to show their support today.
Miller progressed through the youth ranks at Celtic before being handed his league debut in May 2000 — a month before O’Neill took over as manager. He would go on to make 26 first-team appearances — scoring against Lyon in the Champions League — before Manchester United came calling in 2004.
Capped 21 times for Ireland, Miller also had spells with Leeds United, Sunderland, QPR, Hibernian, Perth Glory, Brisbane Roar, Melbourne City, hometown club Cork City and, most recently, Wilmington Hammerheads in the US.
“I gave him his debut at Celtic,” O’Neill said at today’s press conference. “He did wonderfully well in a Champions League game one evening, he was absolutely outstanding.
“We heard about the news recently but we didn’t know how bad it was. All thoughts go out to him and his family, I think he has three children as well.
“For a young man at 36 years of age, it puts things into perspective.”
Fellow Corkman David Meyler added: ”We heard the news but we were unsure of all the details. Thoughts go out to him and his family.
“We’re thinking about him and we hope he can pull through.”
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