Stelling sends message to Kamara after reason behind "slurred" speech emerges

Soccer Saturday host Jeff Stelling has urged Chris Kamara to "keep going" after he confirmed to fans he has been suffering from apraxia of speech.

Kamara was on the programme as recently as last Saturday covering the League One tie between Rotherham United and Shrewsbury Town when viewers noticed his "slurred" speech and started to send in messages of concern and well-wishes. The ex- Bradford City manager was quick to update them as he vowed to "beat" the speech disorder.

"Is Chris Kamara unwell?? Very slurred speech on Sky Sports," one viewer tweeted. "Take care @chris_kammy hope your ok [sic], not your usual self," messaged another as fans flocked to reassure the presenter he had their full support. "Kammy are you ok mate?" a third viewer asked. "Noticing you're not at your best today. And I don't mean that in an offensive way. If you're struggling mate please get some help or talk to someone."

The 64-year-old took to Twitter to ease some immediate fears over his health as he wrote: "Just wanted to let a few of you know who tweeted me today that I am ok-ish. Alongside my Thyroid problem I have developed Apraxia of Speech & have been working to get my speech back to normal.

"Some days it can be a little slow and some days it's normal. Hopefully, I can beat this!" Stelling has since responded to the tweet with a heartfelt message of his own.

"Kammy you still bring life, energy, fun and understanding to all of your reports on Soccer Saturday. We all love you pal, keep going!" he wrote. Stelling was not the only member of the Sky Sports Football family to publicly express their love for Kamara.

Presenter David Jones said: "You're a hero to me and so many others Kammy sending love". Fellow presenter Kelly Cates echoed his sentiments by replying: "You've got this Kammy." Apraxia of speech is defined as a condition whereby the affected person has trouble speaking.

It impacts the process of sending messages from the brain to the mouth as in turn led to Kamara's speech being slower than usual while delivering his coverage on Saturday. A number of former players also sent Kamara messages of support, including Liverpool legend and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.

Former top-flight referee Mark Halsey wrote: "Not hopefully YOU will beat this pal, be strong stay positive." Kamara has been a regular on Soccer Saturday since 1999 alongside his other Sky Sports programme Goals on Sunday, which has been running since 2000.