Ferguson photographed smiling at Manchester restaurant in first public appearance since May health scare

Sir Alex Ferguson has made his first public appearance since a health scare on 3 May forced him to miss Manchester United’s home match against Liverpool, posing for a photograph with a restaurant worker in Wilmslow, Manchester.

The 84-year-old had been transported by ambulance roughly an hour before United’s fixture against their rivals kicked off, though the situation was not treated as an emergency, and he was subsequently released to recover at home.

Ferguson was photographed smiling alongside Vimal Devassy, an employee at the Wilmslow restaurant, who shared the image on Instagram alongside a personal message about his admiration for the former United manager. “I was shaking because I was standing beside a man who helped shape the journey of my idol, Cristiano Ronaldo,” Devassy wrote. “A moment I’ll never forget. Thank you, Sir Alex.”

Speaking about the encounter, Devassy added: “I met him at our restaurant, and before he left, I asked if he would mind taking a photo with me. He happily agreed, which I really appreciated. It was a simple but special moment that I’ll always remember.”

The League Managers’ Association chief executive Richard Bevan has said Ferguson is “on the mend” after he was unable to attend their annual awards ceremony. England manager Thomas Tuchel stepped in to present the Sir Alex Ferguson Trophy to Manager of the Year recipient Frank Lampard, reading a letter written by Ferguson in his absence.

“It is, of course, not the same without Sir Alex himself,” Tuchel said at the ceremony. “We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery so that he is hopefully with us next year on stage again.”

Ferguson is widely regarded as United’s greatest-ever manager, having won 13 Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies, and numerous domestic honours across 26 years at Old Trafford before stepping down in 2013.