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Stephen Darby and partner Steph Houghton(Image: PA)

Former England Women's captain Steph Houghton has spoken candidly about her husband Stephen Darby's struggle with motor neurone disease.

The former Liverpool defender retired from the sport in September 2018 following his diagnosis with this life-altering condition.

The couple had been married just three months when Darby, now aged 36, learned of his illness, after initially noticing a weakness in his arms.



It's estimated that as many as 5,000 UK adults can be living with the disease at any given time.

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"We are so desperate for that cure, we are so desperate for money to be put into research to allow families to have that little bit of hope," shared Houghton.

It's so hard to see your husband who had so much promise in his football career.

"To see that being taken away from him, but also the simple tasks that we take for granted - being able to walk, being able to have food, being able to get up the stairs.

I'm not going to lie and I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I have the best days, because I don't."

Supporters of the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation are set to embark on a 178-mile walk commencing at Wembley and journeying past 26 additional football stadiums.

Formed in 2019, the foundation saw ex-Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers defender Stephen Darby team up with Chris Rimmer, a British Forces veteran.

Even with the daily challenges of living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Darby and his wife Steph Houghton remain hopeful about starting a family.

In an emotional disclosure, Houghton shared the difficulty of observing her husband's health decline as they gear up for a charity walk this weekend aimed at generating funds for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.

In conversation with ITV, former Manchester City player Houghton, who retired last year after an illustrious ten-year stint, added: "It was always a dream of ours to be parents one day and that's still possible.
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