'The best possible news' - Former Bristol Rovers defender Nick Anderton says he's free of cancer

A former defender for Bristol Rovers has shared 'the best possible news [he] could have hoped for' - that he is free of bone cancer.

Nick Anderton was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of cancer in July 2022 after experiencing a sore knee.

The 27-year-old has needed 28 weeks of chemotherapy as well as an operation on his knee.

The disease led Nick to announce his retirement from football in April after a nine-year career that featured spells with Bristol Rovers, Carlisle, and Barrow.

But in an update posted on the former player's social media on 1 September, Nick said he had received the 'best possible news'.

He said: "My first scans have come back with the best possible news I could have hoped for, no sign of active disease.

"This journey is by no means over as the cancer can return and I'm going to be checked every few months for the foreseeable."

Speaking about his journey, he added: "Not how I imagined my mid-twenties to pan out, but it is what it is. Never did I think a sore knee would turn out to be bone cancer.

"I don't think it's really possible to put into words how the last year has been but I'm blessed to still be here battling on.

"Full knee along with 12cm of my femur replaced with metal, I got to keep my knee cap though. Close to 70 nights stayed in hospital, a few infections just to keep me on my toes."

Nick began his footballing career at Preston before joining Barrow in 2016. He then went onto play for Blackpool, Accrington and Carlisle before moving to Bristol Rovers in May 2021.

He was part of the squad that won the club promotion to League One in 2022.

Speaking about his future, Nick said he is going to 'try and enjoy some normal life with my family now' and make the 'best memories' while he figures out what to do next.