THE wife of Blackburn Rovers legend Colin Hendry is fighting for her life after contracting a serious infection.

Denise Hendry, 42, contracted the bug during a 16-hour operation to correct a botched liposuction from six years ago.

She is now being treated in intensive care and is said to be making a gradual recovery.

Her husband is at her bedside at a specialist hospital in Salford.

He said: “She’s a real fighter and I believe that if anyone can come through an ordeal like this, it’s Denise.

“I spend every day at her bedside and it’s encouraging to see the progress she is making, although there is still a long way to go.

“This is a difficult time for us, but we have confidence in the doctors and nursing staff to aid Denise back to full health.”

It is understood Mrs Hendry is suffering from a meningitis-type infection which is a known risk of the surgery she recently underwent.

The mother-of-four was in a coma for five weeks after her bowel and small colon were perforated nine times in a botched liposuction operation in 2002 at Broughton Park Hospital near Preston.

She won a record six-figure damages payout following her horrific injuries.

Surgeon Gustaf Aniansson was later struck off the General Medical Council register after applying for voluntary erasure.

Colin, 44, said: “It’s easy to look back now and say how we wish she hadn’t gone to Aniansson, but she did and we’re having to live with the awful consequences.

“The operation he undertook went dreadfully wrong and Denise nearly died. Further corrective surgery at Preston Royal Infirmary was not successful and we have had to come to Salford Royal Hospital for even more treatment.

“Although the surgery here has gone well, the infection she has contracted has been a devastating blow for us.”

Denise, who lives with her family in Lytham St Annes, has endured more than 20 corrective operations since the liposuction.

Her specialist at Salford Royal, Prof Gordon Carlson said: “Denise has been receiving treatment at the National Intestinal Failure Centre based at Salford Royal for the last few weeks.

“She has had to undergo 16 hours of complex reconstructive surgery on her abdomen but is making a gradual recovery on our intensive care unit.”

Colin Hendry wrote himself into Blackburn Rovers legend thanks to his fearless defending style and leadership qualities.

In a second spell at Rovers between 1991 and 1998 he won the Premier League.

He won 51 caps for Scotland and captained his homeland in the 1998 World Cup.