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Leicester fans to show support for club ambassador Alan Birchenall during Chelsea clash as 71-year-old recovers from a heart attack

Leicester supporters plan to show solidarity with much-loved club ambassador Alan Birchenall after the 71-year-old suffered a heart attack by uniting to shine mobile phone lights in the tenth minute of their match against Chelsea.

Birchenall is recovering in hospital in a stable condition after collapsing while attending an awards function at Leicester Tigers' Welford Road stadium on Thursday night and will be absent from Saturday's Premier League encounter in an extremely rare occurrence over the past decades.

Birchenall's rallying calls before games have been synonymous with Leicester for years – he only previously missed a match as a result of a hip operation – but he took to Facebook on Friday to offer a typically upbeat message to those fans who feared the worst when news broke.