Former Premier League footballers Stephen Darby and Marcus Stewart have bravely started their battle against motor neurone disease (MND).
The pair were spotted making a special appearance at Anfield BBC breakfast and spoke about how the disease has affected them and their families.
Stewart was pictured pushing Darby in a wheelchair as the pair spent time visiting the Liverpool team's dressing room before heading through the tunnel to the pitch.
Darby, 35, who played for Bolton, Liverpool, Notts County and Bradford during his career, retired from football in 2018 after being diagnosed with the disease at the age of 29.
It came just three months after he got married former England Lioness captain Steph Houghton.
Stephen Darby is working to find a cure for motor neurone disease, as he suffers from it himself
Darby, pictured after marrying former England women's captain Steph Houghton in 2018, was diagnosed with ALS just three months later
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Darby started his professional career at Liverpool and rose through the youth ranks before being loaned out to Swindon Town and Notts County.
Reflecting on the illness in one of the hospitality areas at Anfield, Darby said: 'MND brings all types of people together.
'But the special thing is that we are all fighting for the same thing and that is to find a treatment and a cure.'
He also spoke about the impact living with the disease has on his family, saying: 'It's emotionally harder for them to see the fall. (It is not fun.'
Stewart then praised him for opening up, saying, “Look what you just said, I can't even talk about that.
'I do not want. You are braver than me. I think so, but I don't talk about it. Because I wouldn't have been as brave as you.'
In 2019, the former Liverpool defender had also spoken more about how the disease had affected his family, calling it 'brutal'.
He said to the BBC: 'It doesn't just affect me. It affects my wife, my father and mother, my brother, family, friends. It affects everyone.
'It is a cruel disease with a terrible prognosis. That's the message we need to get across to people moving forward.”
He was playing for Bolton while vying for his football coaching badges when he was diagnosed in a Sheffield hospital.
The former footballer then got to work the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation alongside Chris Rimmer, an ex-military who unfortunately died from the disease in 2022. Their charity has raised more than £1.3 million to fight the disease.
In December, Darby had also shed light on the reality of living with the condition, sharing photos of three head wounds he suffered after falling several times.
He wrote to his social media followers to explain that the disease left him now prone to falls and also required two trips to A&E in 2023.
He started his career at Liverpool and rose to the fringes of the first team
Darby, who is now in a wheelchair, visited the Liverpool dressing room where his career began
Darby posted several images online of the lacerations he suffered to his head, but fortunately he suffered no serious damage.
The ex-Liverpool player was also asked by Stewart if his mental fortitude came from his football background, to which Darby replied: 'Yes definitely. Do you feel the same?'
Stewart responded during the BBC film: “Yes, I do. You know, I think the football background, because it's an elite sport, kind of prepares you for what's happening now – psychologically.”
The 51-year-old started his playing career at Bristol Rovers before moving to Ipswich in 2000.
Stewart would remain at the club for two years before moving to Sunderland. In the later parts of his career, the former striker would enjoy spells at Preston and Yeovil before hanging up his boots in 2012 after spending three years at Exeter.
'I think as players we are used to living in the moment and living day to day, week to week. You can't look four months ahead, you can't look a year ahead because you don't know what's happening. I'm going to keep going,” Stewart added.
“So I think I can relate to it, because that's how it is now, because I live in the moment. I live from week to week and don't look at next year, next month, but every day.'
According to the NHSThere is currently no cure for MND, but there are treatments that can help reduce its impact on a person's daily life.
It is a rare condition that affects the brain and nervous system, causing those diagnosed with the disease to experience symptoms of weakness in their limbs, slurred speech and weight loss.
Stewart is known for scoring 19 goals during the 200–01 season, helping promoted Ipswich finish fifth in the Premier League.
He was diagnosed with ALS in January 2022, but in September of that year it was announced that he had the disease.
He recently told Mail Sport that he was in a WhatsApp group with several other former professional athletes who are also struggling with the disease.
Former Leicester and Gloucester rugby player Ed Slater, who was diagnosed in 2022, is among the members, as is former Wales footballer Jason Bowen.
The footballer was forced to retire in 2018 due to the diagnosis; pictured playing for Bradford City in the FA Cup in 2015
Darby spoke about how the disease had affected members of his family, claiming ALS is a 'cruel' disease
Stewart is trying to carry on as normal after his diagnosis in January 2022
Stewart scored 19 in the famous season 20 years ago as Ipswich secured a place in Europe
“I've played against Jason a lot,” Stewart recently told Mail Sport. 'That was a shock, but it is another man with ALS that we have to take care of.
'It's a good WhatsApp group to be in because the majority of us are positive people. We're throwing out information and the normal Friday or Saturday night chatter still continues.
'We want to laugh in circumstances that are not brilliant. I've made some good friends through the most terrible circumstances.'
He added: “I don't think about what's going to happen in five years or five weeks. I just live from week to week. That's how it is for me now. It's the next day, the next week. I just live in the moment.'