Gary Lineker left ‘gutted’ as he pulls out of Match of the Day presenting duties

Gary Lineker says the start of his presenting career was ‘appalling’

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Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker has been left “gutted” after he was forced to withdraw from Saturday night’s show through illness. The former England striker is taking some time to rest up after being struck down by an “awful cold” with Mark Chapman set to replace him on set.

It’s not the first time Lineker has been forced to withdraw from a broadcast this year.

Back in April, he had no choice but to stay at home for BT Sport’s live coverage of the Champions League semi-final between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City following a COVID scare within the studio.

Now unfortunately the 60-year-old has been left with little choice but to pull out of tonight’s show, as he confirmed the news on his Twitter.

“There’s a cracking Premier League fixture list today so doubly gutted at not being able to do @BBCMOTD. Had this awful cold for a few days that’s doing the rounds… not Covid thankfully,” he said.

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“The brilliant @markchapman will take the reins.”

Around 40 minutes later, Lineker posted a follow-up message, thanking fans for their well-wishes.

“Thanks for all the very lovely get well soon messages. Makes you realise that the overwhelming majority of people are kind and considerate,” he added.

“Important not to be mislead into thinking the opposite by the occasional nasty tweet. Cheers all [red love heart emoji].”

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There will be plenty to analyse and get stuck into on tonight’s show following the return of the Premier League.

Liverpool travel to Watford in the early kick-off as they look to bounce back in style following back-to-back draws with Brentford and Manchester City.

The champions are in action themselves as they host Burnley at the Etihad Stadium at 3.00pm.

Meanwhile, Manchester United travel to Leicester in what looks a difficult match on paper for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Aston Villa also host Wolves while Brighton travel to Norwich as they bid to continue their impressive start to the campaign.

Chelsea then travel to Brentford in the late kick-off as Thomas Frank’s side target an upset against the champions of Europe.

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