London, Apr 8 (IANS): Former England forward Jimmy Greaves is being treated in hospital for an unspecified illness.

The 80-year-old, a World Cup winner with England in 1966, played for Tottenham Hotspur and had netted 44 goals in 57 games for his country and a club-record 220 league goals.

"We can confirm that our record goalscorer Jimmy Greaves is currently being treated in hospital," a Spurs statement read as quoted by BBC.

"We are in touch with his family and will provide further updates in due course.

"Everybody at the club sends their best wishes to Jimmy and his family," the statement added.

A statement from Greaves' friend and agent Terry Baker said, as quoted by BBC, that a further update would be provided on Wednesday morning.

Greaves is fourth on the list of all-time England goalscorers, behind Wayne Rooney (53), Bobby Charlton (49) and Gary Lineker (48).

He suffered a severe stroke in 2015.

Greaves missed out on a World Cup medal despite being a part of England's 1966 World Cup-winning squad because he was injured during the tournament's group stage.

After recovering, Greaves was left out of the starting XI for the final and his replacement, Geoff Hurst, scored a hat-trick as England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time.