A former footballer and taekwondo champion said his world had "been turned upside down" after being hurt in a crash on Christmas Eve.
Mike Pejic, 72, snapped his Achilles tendon when he was knocked from his bike just 50 yards from his home in Shropshire.
Wife Mally said the ex-Stoke City, Everton, Aston Villa and England left-back was feeling "pretty down".
"Mike is a very positive person but he doesn't like injury," she said.
Mrs Pejic returned from a trip to local shops shortly after 11:00 BST to find her husband seriously injured on a rural lane between Minsterley and Bishop's Castle.