She Kicks Back Special: Danielle Gibbons

Liverpool goalkeeper Danielle Gibbons describes having an acoustic neuroma, a benign brain tumour, removed on 6 July after it unexpectedly grew. Because the surgery severed her hearing and balance nerves on the left side she had to begin again with turning cones over while walking round the pitch, her lack of balance draining brain power and tiring her quickly. Being a fit footballer helped: doctors said the fitter she was the faster she would recover, and it became a target rather than a frustration. She is permanently deaf in her left ear, has all her balance controlled on one side, and wears a helmet because of a ten-pence-sized hole in her skull. She returned before the end of the season and made her Champions League debut in Italy.