Former Leeds Rhinos player Rob Burrow diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease

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Thursday 19 December 2019 at 12:19pm

The former Leeds Rhinos player Rob Burrow has announced today that he has recently been diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease (MND).

The 37-year-old retired from playing at the end of the 2017 season after winning his eighth Super League Grand Final and then became the club's Reserve team Head Coach.

He played for Leeds Rhinos his entire career, making 492 appearances following his debut in 2001, placing him in fifth in the club’s all-time list of career appearances.

The club's Director of Rugby Kevin Sinfield has spoken in support of his friend.

This has been devastating news and heart breaking for Rob and his young family. The thoughts of everyone at Leeds Rhinos and, I am sure, throughout the Rugby League family is with Rob and his wife Lindsey. Throughout his career, Rob overcame the odds to become a legend of the game and I know he will tackle this challenge with the exact same positive determination. As a club, Rob will receive our full support and we will be working with him to chart the way forward. I would like to thank Doddie Weir for taking time out recently to meet with Rob and talk about his own personal experiences with MND. The news has been a massive shock and I know it will be similar for his many former team mates, friends and fans in the game. We will be developing ways we can best support Rob and his family in the future over the next few weeks and will be hoping to announce plans as soon as possible in the New Year. In the meantime, I would ask you all to keep Rob and his family in your thoughts over the Festive period.

A trust is being set up to help Rob and his family. Friends, including Harry Potter actor Matthew Lewis have been showing their support on social media.

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