Champion footballer visiting a hospital (7)
I believe the answer is:
messiah
'champion' is the definition.
'footballer visiting a hospital' is the wordplay.
'footballer' becomes 'messi' (footballer Lionel Messi).
'visiting' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'hospital' becomes 'h'.
'messi'+'a'+'h'='MESSIAH'
(Other definitions for messiah that I've seen before include "A hoped-for saviour" , "Jesus?" , "Leader, saviour" , "His coming was prophesied in the Old Testament" , "Handel's composition, sung annually by Our Lady's Choral Society" .)