Former English Football League defender Tommy Spurr continues to live with worry even though his son has recently overcome cancer. The ex-Sheffield Wednesday and Blackburn full-back has had to endure every parent’s worst nightmare as his four-year-old boy Rio was diagnosed with Wilms Tumour – a form of kidney cancer – last April. The disease spread to his lungs and contained anaplastic features which made it harder to cure and more likely to return. But after nine months of a punishing chemotherapy treatment and 10 days of radiotherapy Rio got the great news last month that there was no longer any evidence of the cancer. However, because of the anaplasia, doctors have said the cancer has a 50 per cent chance of returning and if it does not only does the survival rate plummet to just 10 per cent, there are no further treatment options on the NHS. Alongside Rio’s treatment, the Spurr family have been fundraising, with the former player quitting his job as a teacher, in case the worst does happen. But although they are able to enjoy seeing their little boy start to live a normal life again, the worry of what might be to come has been hard for Spurr and his wife Chloe to deal with. “The first meeting when you hear them say what it was was just horrific,” Spurr, who retired four years ago aged just 31, told the PA news agency. “It turned our world upside down and I don’t think it’s something that will ever leave me or my wife. “We were petrified because we knew he was up against it and the thought of losing our little boy was horrendous. “But fast forward to a couple of weeks ago to be told there was nothing there was a massive relief. “You want to get on with your life and forget about it but you know the risk of it coming back is still there. “My wife and I are still struggling to deal with that and live normally, it is hard to put that out of your mind, knowing he is going to get scanned again and praying and hoping they come back with nothing on. “It has been really hard. I am lucky that I have got my wife. Mentally it has been really hard, the fundraising has been keeping us going because it feels like we are trying to do something positive for Rio but even now I don’t want to sound negative but it is difficult not knowing where we are going to be in a year’s time.” If that news ever does come, Spurr wants to be in the best position possible as their only likely option is going to be treatment in America and that will not come cheaply. “This is the difficulty at the moment. We would more than likely have to access a clinical trial or something that is not available in this country,” he added. “What that is yet we don’t know because we are hoping we don’t get to that point. We were petrified because we knew he was up against it and the thought of losing our little boy was horrendous. Tommy Spurr “We know another family whose child had an identical diagnosis to Rio had treatment in America and their hospital bill for that trip was £650,000 so it is what it is. We will be as prepared as we can be but every day we are praying we are not going to be in that position.” The next step of the fundraising sees Spurr staging a charity match this Sunday, where former Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United players will go head-to-head in a Steel City Derby at the Olympic Legacy Park. Ron Atkinson and Neil Warnock will be in the dugouts, with a number of high-profile ex-players giving their time. Spurr said: “The lads are giving up their time to come and play, it’s been amazing that people want to be involved. “The number of people that have bought tickets and wanting to help has been overwhelming. Me and my wife are so thankful. “I think I’ll be playing the whole thing but I might have to give Big Ron a sign if I am struggling. Some of the lads I used to play with I have not seen for 10 years, it will be nice to catch up.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: Tottenham ready for fight to keep hold of Harry Kane 5 contenders as Justin Thomas sets out to defend US PGA Championship crown Jordan Spieth suffers injury in bid for grand slam as US PGA returns to Oak Hill

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Michael O’Neill believes Northern Ireland still have everything to play for in their bid to reach Euro 2024 even as injuries hit hard during the qualifying campaign. With a trip to Denmark and a home match against Kazakhstan up next, O’Neill has named a 28-man squad that includes five uncapped players and a total of 15 with fewer than 10 caps. Although Jonny Evans returns from the hamstring injury that prevented him from adding to his 100 caps in March, Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Liam Boyce, Josh Magennis, Conor Washington and Shane Ferguson remain sidelined, forcing O’Neill to rely on youth. When O’Neill returned to the Northern Ireland job in December there was an opportunity to capitalise on a favourable qualifying draw, and although that remains possible, the absence of his most experienced players is making it a much tougher ask. Northern Ireland began with a 2-0 win in San Marino in their group opener, but a 1-0 home defeat to Finland highlighted the difficulties. Asked if the job had been harder than envisaged, O’Neill said: “I suppose it depends on what the expectation is for this campaign going forward as well. I still think we have got everything to play for in this campaign. “The next two games are going to be very important and then obviously we have a double-header away in September (against Slovenia and Kazakhstan) which will be difficult, so we are going to ask a lot of a number of young players in this group. “The senior players that we have with us, we really can’t afford to lose any more. I think we have eight players out who could all equally play for us, who have all been established players with a high number of caps. “That is the situation that unfortunately we just have to deal with.” It has meant O’Neill has been juggling the need for results with the need to nurture young players, with Conor Bradley and Shea Charles in particular asked to take on significant roles. “It is a different approach from taking a team and saying ‘Right, how do we qualify? What is our route to qualification? How do we get enough points?’” O’Neill added. “Of course, that is always in the background but I think it is more about the integration of the younger players and they will have to learn very quickly on the job if we are going to take that next step.” O’Neill has hosted a series of training camps with senior players and under-21s in recent weeks, aiming to keep fitness levels high after the end of domestic campaigns while running the rule over younger faces. Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly, West Ham teenager Callum Marshall and Larne forward Lee Bonis have all used the opportunity to earn their first senior call-ups. While the return of Evans is a major boost, the Leicester defender will come into camp dealing with the disappointment of relegation and facing uncertainty over his future. “He is very disappointed for them to go down and he is in a situation where he is out of contract as well,” O’Neill said. “I am sure if he was playing his football elsewhere next season he would have liked to have left Leicester in a slightly different way but he was just unfortunate this season. “Probably, I think by his own admission, he pushed very hard to get back because I think he does make a difference to Leicester’s team. I think you saw that in the final three games that he was fit to play in. But I know he is keen to be a part of this squad and play. “It is big for us to have him back, obviously we missed him in March and I believe that Jonny still has a lot of football left in him, both with Northern Ireland and wherever he chooses to play his football next season.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live French Open day 12: Karolina Muchova reaches first grand slam final after upset Jonny Evans back in Northern Ireland squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers West Ham fans line streets to toast Europa Conference League champions