Young cancer patient beams as Man Utd players recognise him in meeting ahead of match

26.02.2022 - 20:53 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

An inspirational young boy receiving treatment for cancer in Manchester was given the chance to meet some of his favourite footballers ahead of today's match.

River Rhodes, seven, is actually from Wolverhampton, where his family are firm supporters of their local club Wanderers, but the youngster is so mad about football he's over the moon to see any team play.

Whilst undergoing radiotherapy treatment at The Christie in Manchester for rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of soft tissue, connective tissue or bone, River started going to football matches at Old Trafford, and the Manchester United family quickly took him in as one of their own.

READ MORE: Manchester United duo face World Cup uncertainty as Sweden refuse to face Russia

River has been to see lots of Man U's games over the last few months, getting to meet a lot of the players at Turf Moor earlier this month when the reds took on Burnley in the Premier League.

Today, February 26 River was outside Old Trafford waiting for the players to arrive ahead of their match against Watford, and a video shared on the Manchester United Twitter page showed the squad recognising their young fan as they were coming in.

Captain Harry Maguire was the first player to greet the youngster, asking if he was ok and coming to watch the game.

Keep up to date with the top stories about life in and around Trafford with the free email newsletter from MyTrafford.

The MyTrafford newsletter goes out weekly on Tuesdays with a selection of our most popular articles, including the latest on the pandemic and how Trafford is emerging from lockdown.

To sign up to the MyTrafford newsletter simply click on this link, enter your email address and put a tick against the box for 'MyTrafford News'.

Forward