It is so sad that former Super Eagles coach Paul Hamilton’s leg has been amputated. The coach has been bedridden for months before his left leg was amputated from the knee, Hamilton’s wife, Durdy, said.
“He was amputated three weeks ago but he’s fine and improving. I just left him at the hospital some minutes ago,” she told our correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday. He’s not diabetic. He had a leg injury. It was an injury he sustained during his days as a footballer, which affected his bone. He’s now gradually managing to move around.”
A close family source said Hamilton’s left leg was amputated from the knee. “It was a wound that was not detected for a very long time. He probably sustained the wound while playing football. The family don’t want it go public, at least for now,” the family source said.
When asked if the NFF, Hamilton’s employer for many years, was aware of his state of health, Durdy said, “They knew about his health conditions since last year, even the sports minister knows about it.”
Chairman NFF Technical Committee, Chris Green, admitted that he was aware of Hamilton’s health status, saying he would ensure that the federation’s president Amaju Pinnick play a big role in helping the coach, who led Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 1985 U-20 World Cup in Russia.
“I’m aware he was amputated. I don’t know if he’s gone home yet. Amaju is in Doha along with the NFF General Secretary but I’m trying to write a memo to the federation asking for assistance for him (Hamilton) because the man was our coach, assistant coach, national team captain and even technical director. This is the twilight of his life; we can’t pretend that we don’t know what is happening to him,” Green said.
