MARTIN’ O’NEILL has urged Seamus Coleman  to use Celtic legend Henrik Larsson as his inspiration for recoving from a horrific double leg break.

The Republic of Ireland skipper remains in hospital in Dublin after undergoing surgery on Saturday morning to pin the broken tibia and fibula in his right leg.

The injury came as a result of a challenge by Wales wing-back Neil Taylor during Friday night’s 0-0 World Cup qualifying draw at the Aviva Stadium.

Manager Martin O’Neill visited Coleman on Sunday and, while he revealed the 28-year-old is understandably down as he comes to terms with what will be a lengthy lay-off, he is taking a pragmatic approach to his recovery.

And he is hoping he will return as good as ever having seen Larsson bounce back from a similar injury.

He said: “Before I went to Celtic, about five or six months before that, Henrik Larsson had a very serious injury and he recovered magnificently and the injury didn’t bother him again from then until the end of his career, so great players have recovered.

“Obviously it’s very early for him to start considering all those things, but he is positive.”

Asked about his own emotions as Coleman lay in agony on the pitch in the aftermath of the incident, O’Neill said: “The first reaction is that you know you have lost a great player for a start.

“You know the sort of pain that he’s going to be going through, obviously the immediate pain and then his recovery.

“It’s a major blow, not only for the player, but obviously for his family, people who were at the game watching that.

“But as Seamus mentioned to me the other day, he just said that it has happened now, he can’t do anything about it and it’s what he does now in the next few months that is very, very important.

“I think he’s just beginning to come to terms with it. 

“I saw him yesterday and he’s still pretty down about it. 

“He’s not in as much pain, the operation went very well and it’s just a matter of coming to terms with it.”