CON TOP OF THE WORLD

Fitness-fan Roberts fought life-threatening bout of pneumonia but is back to peak of his powers & raring to go for USA opener

RUNNING man Connor Roberts admits he feared for his life as he battled pneumonia – but is now on top of the world.

Teetotal Wales defender Roberts is widely regarded as the fittest member of Rob Page’s World Cup squad and he loves to motor up and down the pitch.

But Burnley’s attacking right-back was stopped in his tracks by a potentially deadly infection last winter.

It saw Roberts hospitalised last December before eventually being released before Christmas.

Roberts has reflected on the ordeal after regaining his peak fitness, having avoided any major scarring on his lungs from the infection. Roberts, 27, said: “I had pneumonia and I was in hospital for a few days.

“I was really struggling. “My wife was at home and she was asking the doctors, ‘Is he going to be OK?’.

“He couldn’t actually give her the answer that I was going to be all right because a high percentage of people, who have what I had, don’t actually make it.

“So the fact that

I am still playing and can still do what I do is a good thing.

“I did worry about it because it affects the lungs and I had to have numerous scans.

“I was told from the people who read those scans that what I had was severe. It wasn’t a small thing.

“Everyone knows that I like to get up and down when I play and run all day, so my lungs are obviously a massive part of the ability to do that.

“I was a little bit worried, but when I came back for Burnley at the back end of last season, I felt sound. We have since qualified for a World Cup – so I cannot be doing that badly.”

Wales start their Group B campaign on Monday night against USA before further matches against Iran and England.

The Iran game next Friday kicks off at 1pm local time in Doha, where temperatures of 29C are expected.

But Roberts (left, on the flight to Qatar) insisted: “I enjoy it. I’ve been on holiday a few times to Dubai and I like to run in the boiling heat, so it will be just the same.

“Whenever I am wearing the Wales jersey, I feel

I can run all day. I will just keep on going and going.

“I’m looking forward to it. It could be 100F and it wouldn’t bother me.

“It will be different conditions to those we are used to, but there’s nothing I haven’t experienced before.

“I’ve played in Croatia and in Baku and other places, so I’ll be fine.”

Roberts started all Wales’ games at Euro 2020 last summer, when he even netted in the win against Turkey.

He added: “I said before the Euros that, if Rob Page lets me on that pitch for one single minute, I’d be happy.

“It’s the same this time around. I just want to be able to play one single minute, just so that I can say that I played at a World Cup for my country. Hopefully, I can achieve that.”