Matteo bid to aid tumour sufferers

DOMINIC MATTEO is still fighting a daily battle almost two years on from the shock brain tumour diagnosis that changed his life.

In November 2019, the former Liverpool, Leeds United and Scotland defender (right) was found to be one of only two people in Europe with an incredibly rare form of brain cancer called anaplastic ependymoma.

Matteo said: “I went from working to collapsing in a heap, that quickly. I really shouldn’t be here.

“The day earlier I was working on TV and then the next day I was fighting for my life and I didn’t know why.” While his short-term prospects were improved by surgery, Matteo added: “Having people around you who have been through it and tell you how to get past it, that helps.”

Matteo, 47, formed a charity aimed at helping those with similar health issues after meeting Dave Bolton, a brain tumour sufferer and former kickboxing world champion.

The pair’s Ahead of the Game Foundation, launched at a golf day this week, hopes to use the £25,349 raised to address the fact that research into the treatment of brain tumours remains underfunded.