Liverpool legend Tommy Smith will have a triple heart bypass following his heart attack at the start of June.
The 62-year-old ex-defender collapsed at his Crosby home while mowing the lawn but crawled into the house before his wife, Sue, called an ambulance.
The former Reds skipper has been recuperating at Fazackerley Hospital.
"I feel an awful lot better," he said. "I'm not really looking forward to the operation but just want to get it done and start living and enjoy life again."
Smith was famed for his hardman reputation during his playing days and was a fierce tackler with a no-nonsense approach to the game.
Born just a mile from Anfield, he joined the club ground staff as a 15-year-old in 1960.
Smith went on to become the first Liverpool captain to lift a European trophy when Bill Shankly's side won the League and Uefa Cup double in 1973.
He headed the second goal in the 1977 European Cup final against Borussia Monchengladbach on his 600th appearance.
He went on to make 637 appearances for the Reds and had complained recently of chest pains.
"I couldn't believe it," he added, reflecting on his heart attack.
"I thought I was as fit as I could be at the age of 62. Anybody who has had a heart attack knows it is terrifying. I just didn't know what to do."
He has also been having treatment for painful rheumatoid arthritis.
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