Wayne Lineker has thanked a friend for taking him to hospital after a “disturbing” incident in Ibiza earlier this week, which left him with “stitches and a swollen lip” after he tried “to protect a girl from being harassed”.

The 62-year-old, who is the younger brother of former England footballer Gary Lineker, shared an Instagram story praising his pal after a video circulated earlier this week, showing him in an altercation outside a bar on the Spanish island in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

He was reported to have been knocked out for several minutes after being punched in the jaw by another man following a confrontation.

Wayne re-shared a photo showing him drinking a couple of raw juices and gave “very special thanks” to his friend, cafe owner Daniel Onions.

Wayne thanked him “for looking after me for many hours after the event took place, taking me [to] hospital, and making sure I got home safe and ok”.

Onions re-shared his post, commenting: “What friends are for”.

The Celebs Go Dating star later shared a short video on Instagram, with two of his resort employees joking with him that “sometimes, you’ve just got to take it on the chin”.

Proving the blow hadn’t knocked his sense of humour, Wayne annotated the video, writing: “Hahaha gotta see the funny side. Take it on the chin.”

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Earlier this week, Wayne shared a photo showing him in sunglasses, and with a cut to the right side of his chin, giving a thumbs up, at his friend’s wellness cafe.

Wayne has his own businesses in Ibiza, and owns the beach resort O Beach on the island, and has other resorts on the Spanish mainland and in Majorca.

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Wayne wrote: “I wanted to write this post to let everyone know that I’m doing ok… I have a few stitches and a swollen lip.

“It could have been much worse so I count myself very fortunate I wasn’t standing two yards further back, as my head would have impacted the wall.

“Obviously the video is very disturbing to see especially for my family.

“The papers were very accurate and it was a simple case of me just trying to protect a girl from being harassed.

“Thank you everyone for all your messages of concern the support has been really overwhelming.”

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His nephew, and son of Gary Lineker, commented: “LOL: “Lowest of the low”.

Wayne is understood to be estranged from his brother and has previously said they no longer talk.

It’s not known if anyone has been arrested over the incident.

Sky News has contacted Wayne for further comment.

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