Manchester United coach Mark Dempsey rushed to hospital at start of pre-season Perth tour after falling ill at team hotel

ONE of Manchester United’s coaches was rushed to hospital yesterday at the start of a pre-season tour in Australia.

Former player Mark Dempsey, 55, a well-respected member of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s staff, fell ill at the team hotel.

The United coach was taken by ambulance from Perth’s five-star Crown Towers, chaperoned by security and reportedly with a sheet covering his face as he was wheeled into the hospital.

Mark was later said to be suffering from dehydration but was in a stable condition.

A source said: “Everyone is in a state of shock. He’s a very popular member of the backroom team. He’s obviously 10,000 miles from his loved ones, which makes it even worse.”

Last night his wife Susan said her husband had collapsed with exhaustion and sleep deprivation due to the intensity of the training and the time difference.

Speaking from the home they share with their daughter, 11, in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancs, she added: “So everything is fine. I’ve just spoken to him now.

“He’s still in hospital but maybe he’ll be released in the morning. They’re keeping him in for observation. He’s on a drip because he’s dehydrated.”

The Manchester-born ex-midfielder played twice for United in the 1980s before spending the rest of his playing career at other clubs including Sheffield United.

He was later a Reds youth coach and managed Scandinavian sides before returning as part of Norwegian Solskjaer’s set-up last year.