The 52-year-old former Netherlands international was moved to a Dutch hospital but remained in intensive care, his wife Annemarie said last week. Van der Sar was initially admitted to a Split hospital while on holiday in Croatia.

“First of all, we want to thank everyone for all the great and supportive messages,” Van der Sar said in a post on Twitter.

“I’m happy to share that I’m no longer in the intensive care unit. However, I’m still in hospital. I hope to go home next week and take the next step in my recovery!”

Van der Sar, who spent six years at Old Trafford before leaving in 2011, was most recently a director at Ajax but quit before the end of last season after the club finished third in the Dutch league and missed out on Champions League football for the first time since 2009.

(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)