Friends of sick former football star rally to show their support

Money trouble is one thing but most of us can still say we have our health. Former-star-footballer-turned-actor Wan Chi-keung (pictured left) is not so fortunate.

It seems Wan has been admitted to hospital with an unknown ailment, and his entertainment-industry friends have been rallying financial support for him. At an event for the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong over the weekend, local Cantonese opera veteran Law Ka-ying (right) confirmed that Wan, whose long-time girlfriend is actress Michelle Yim, is receiving some costly treatment, but he refused to disclose the specifics of his illness.

'I am not saying he and Michelle don't have the money to pay for the treatments,' Law, a cancer survivor himself, explained. 'But as his friends, we all want to do something to help out and show our support to him. I think [helping financially] is better than just sending him flowers or fruit baskets. And I have contributed my bit already.'

In the early 1990s, Wan was diagnosed with throat cancer but he fought the disease and continued to work.

However, recently the Chinese press has reported that the former star striker, for such golden-era football teams as South China and Seiko of the 1970s and 1980s, has suffered drastic weight loss and was admitted to hospital earlier this month.

Law did confirm Wan's condition was compounded by an infection and that he had been placed in an isolation ward.