Former Norwich City manager Ken Brown has praised hospital staff following a successful operation to have a pacemaker fitted.

Eastern Daily Press: Former NCFC manager Ken Brown.Picture: ANTONY KELLYFormer NCFC manager Ken Brown.Picture: ANTONY KELLY (Image: Archant Norfolk 2015)

The 84-year-old Canaries legend underwent the procedure at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital on Sunday (May 27).

A photo posted on Twitter of him smiling from a hospital bed sparked hundreds of comments from people around the world.

But Mr Brown has since assured well-wishers that the operation was carried out as a precautionary measure.

Speaking just hours after being discharged from hospital on Monday (May 28), Mr Brown said: 'Everything is fine.

'They [the hospital staff] did a wonderful job and I can't praise them highly enough, especially as they had to put up with someone like myself.'

Mr Brown, who lives in Blofield, managed Norwich City from 1980 to 1987. He also played for West Ham between 1953 and 1967.

His wife Elaine said the procedure was 'expected' and not carried out in an emergency.

She said it followed on from a Christmas present she bought him around seven or eight years ago.

'I gave him a Bupa health check for Christmas, which he thought was the worst present at the time,' Mrs Brown said.

'But he went there and they found he had a slight blockage in his heart, which they said is not uncommon for men over 70 to have.'

She said the pacemaker was fitted as a result of subsequent check-ups which revealed he was suffering from a low pulse rate.

'He was on blood thinners, which means if you cut yourself, you bleed quite badly,' Mrs Brown said.

'And because of his low pulse rate, if he got up in the night and fell, and cut his head, there could be a problem.

'So the pacemaker stops the pulse from getting too low.'

She said the operation took just 30 minutes, adding that hospital staff were 'brilliant'.

'Everyone complains about the NHS, but things like this make you realise how good it is,' Mrs Brown said.

'I can't thank the staff enough.'

She added Mr Brown even bumped into his old milkman in hospital, who he knew from his days managing Norwich City.

Earlier this year, Mr Brown became the sixth person to win West Ham's lifetime achievement award.