Former Southampton and Northern Ireland defender Chris Nicholl, who captained Aston Villa to League Cup glory, has died at the age of 77.
Nicholl, who also managed Southampton before taking charge of Walsall, had been living with dementia, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which he attributed to brain damage caused by repeatedly heading balls over his lengthy career.
The former central defender’s death was confirmed in a family statement on his daughter Cathy’s Facebook account.
It said: “It is with a heavy heart that we write this. Chris Nicholl (our dad) sadly passed away peacefully on Saturday evening in hospital.
“He fought a very long battle with CTE, caused by his dedication to football. Words can’t describe how much we’ll m…