Leukaemia

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    I’m an ex-Premier League star who battled leukaemia and fought for my life for 13 months – now I’m bashing rivals in MMA

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    FORMER Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme won the fight of his life when he battled back from leukaemia.Now, the ex-Molineux star is flooring his opponents as a Mixed Martial Arts champion – and has even enjoyed some success in Europe.
    Former Premier League star Carl Ikeme has swapped goalkeeper gloves for MMA glovesCredit: RAW Grappling Championship/Youtube
    The former stopper played over 200 games for WolvesCredit: Getty Images – Getty
    The 36-year-old was always handy with his fists when he was clearing crosses from his penalty area, clocking up more than 200 appearances as Wolves’ No1.
    But his career was cruelly cut short when he was 32 after being diagnosed with leukaemia in 2017 and the popular goalie was forced to retire from the game a year later.
    Ikeme spent 13 months undergoing gruelling treatment before docs told him he was in complete remission.
    But with his football career over, the former Wolves hero swapped his goalie gloves for fingerless MMA gloves after building up his fitness participating in the Brazilian martial art of jiu-jitsu.
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    And Ikeme soon proved he is every bit as handy in a cage or ring as he was in a penalty box by becoming British open age champion.
    The former goalie has also enjoyed success in Europe after picking up a bronze medal at the MMA European Championships.
    Ikeme told local Wolverhampton paper the Express & Star: “I was just filling up my car at a petrol station near home and saw a sign for Gracie Barra, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy in Sutton Coldfield.
    “I had always wanted to try that discipline, so I signed up for a taster session.
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    “I was in really good shape at the time, it was around when I had done the 100-mile Velo cycle ride for charity.
    “But I went along to the class, and I remember being absolutely gassed after a three-minute round.
    “My legs were cramping, my back was in bits, and I suddenly realised that you don’t really know anything about fighting until you actually do it!”
    Ikeme made his martial arts debut last year, beating fellow Brit Fuad Ahmed 4-0 in the first Raw Grappling World Championship at the IndigoO2 Arena in London, in a contest streamed on YouTube.
    The former shot-stopper, who won ten international caps for Nigeria, confessed: “Competition really wasn’t in my mind at the start.
    “I just wanted to learn a new art. I found it all a really humbling experience to be honest.
    “It’s about realising that nothing else matters when you are on the mat as it’s just two people concentrating on trying to get the better out of each other.”
    Ikeme was forced to retire in 2018 aged 32 following his battle with leukaemiaCredit: PA:Press Association More

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      England footballer James Tarkowski surprises leukaemia sufferer, ten, and pal with PlayStation 5 consoles

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      ENGLAND footie star James Tarkowski has delighted a ten-year-old leukaemia sufferer and his pal by handing them the latest PlayStation 5 consoles worth £450 each.
      The Burnley defender, 28, delivered the gifts to Hughie Higginson and Freddie Xavi, nine.

      Burnley defender James Tarkowski delighted a ten-year-old leukaemia sufferer and his pal with new PS5 consolesCredit: Getty – Pool

      Freddie is running 62 miles in 50 days to raise cash for the ­hospital where his pal is being treated.
      Freddie, of Whalley, Lancs, said: “I was shocked.
      “I thought he was just coming to say ‘Hi’ and then he went to his car and returned with a PS5 for both of us.
      “It is doesn’t seem real. He wished me good luck, to keep going and said what I was doing was really good.”

      ‘UNREAL’
      Tarkowski wrote on the PS5 box: “To Freddie, What an amazing friend you are!”
      And to Hughie, he put: “Keep strong mate, you’ve got this!!!”
      Burnley fan Hughie faces three years of treatment at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
      Mum Sarah Ronnan, 32, said: “It was unreal of James Tarkowski. It was such a nice thing to do.

      The England star delivered the gifts to Hughie Higginson and Freddie XaviCredit: Getty – Contributor

      “He also gave them some money to buy extra games, which was so nice of him.
      “He called round on his way to training.
      “We met him outside at a social distance and it was incredible for both boys.”

      The latest PlayStation 5 consoles are worth £450 eachCredit: PA:Press Association

      Excited Brit gamers show off their new PS5 gizmos as Playstation 5 goes on sale
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      Sinisa Mihajlovic, 51, reveals hospital gave him fake identity as 69-year-old homeless man to treat him for leukaemia

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      BOLOGNA coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has revealed the fake identity he was given to fight leukaemia.
      The former midfielder kept his job with the Serie A team while he overcame the illness last year.

      Sinisa Mihajlovic beat leukaemia while remaining the coach of Italian team BolognaCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Staff at Bologna’s Hospital Sant’orsola feared that Mihajlovic could attract unwanted attention during the difficult treatment for the disease.
      And so he was named Cgikjltfr Drnovsk, a homeless 69-year-old.
      Ahead of the launch of his autobiography, Mihajlovic told Corriere della Sera: “I’m the kind of guy who used to talk about winning a war with courage.
      “But I was afraid, I cried, and wondered why. I begged for help from God, like everyone else.

      “Those who do not make it are not losers. It is not a defeat, it is a damn disease. There is no prescription to recover, or at least I don’t have it.
      “You may feel like a warrior, but without doctors you’re not going anywhere. The only thing you can do is not to lose the will to live. The rest does not depend on us.
      “I enjoy every moment. I didn’t do it before, I took everything for granted. Health counts, affections count. Nothing else.
      “The disease has made me a better man who always tries to see the glass half full. Three days ago I did the tests, blood, lung CT, aspirated marrow. Every time I get anxiety. The next check is in June, then, twice a year.

      After the first two rounds of chemo, I looked like a 69-year-old man.
      Sinisa Mihajlovic

      “The Hospital Sant’orsola gave me a false identity. I was Cgikjltfr Drnovsk, a homeless 69-year-old.
      “It was to prevent attracting curious people who would disturb other patients. After the first two rounds of chemo, I looked like a 69-year-old man.”
      Mihajlovic is now cancer-free and healthy having announced his diagnosis in the summer of 2019.
      However he remained in charge of the team and delivered a frank phone call to the team while they trailed 3-1 at Brescia in the early weeks of last campaign.
      Bologna’s comeback to win 4-3 sparked huge celebrations as the team bus stopped off outside Mihajlovic’s hospital window on the way home.
      The Serb, who also battled coronavirus earlier this year, even took a break from chemotherapy to watch his side’s first away game of the 2019-20 season.
      And Mihajlovic has recalled how tough it was to turn out for the 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona.
      He recalled: “I weighed 75 kilos, I had only 300 white blood cells in my body [but] I implored the doctors to let me go.

      Mihajlovic turned out for Bologna’s draw with Verona having only just began chemotherapy

      “I almost fell on the floor in front of everyone and a couple of times I was going to.
      “I felt the looks of compassion on me in the tunnel. When I saw myself on television, I did not recognize me.
      “I wanted to give a message. You shouldn’t be ashamed of illness. You have to show yourself for what you are.”

      Bologna players stop team bus at hospital to see leukaemia-battling boss Sinisa Mihajlovic More