Stephen Darby and Steph Houghton talk MND on Rob Burrow podcast

Former Liverpool and Bradford City footballer Stephen Darby, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2018, says he tells his family not to “waste time” and “enjoy what we have now”.

The 35-year-old appears as a guest, alongside his wife – former England and Manchester City captain Steph Houghton – on series two of award-winning podcast “Rob Burrow Seven, Meets…“.

The series is presented by former rugby league great, Rob Burrow, who himself was diagnosed with MND in late 2019. Episodes were recorded before Burrow died in June, aged 41, and are available now on BBC Sounds, on what would have been the former Leeds Rhinos player’s 42nd birthday.

MND is a degenerative condition that affects how nerves in the brain and spinal cord function. There is currently no cure.

Before he passed away, Burrow was awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List earlier this year, alongside friend and former team-mate Kevin Sinfield, in acknowledgement of their fundraising and campaigning around MND.

Darby praised Burrow and his wife Lindsey for “turning this MND diagnosis into a positive”.

With his own playing career cut short at the age of 29, Darby said he would like his own legacy to be “to carry on the fight” and added: “I’d like to think we are doing everything we can to leave MND in a better place.”

In March, Darby completed a 178-mile march in aid of people with MND.

When Houghton announced she would retire at the end of last season, leaving the game as Manchester City’s most decorated player, she cited a desire to spend more time with her family. The 36-year-old former defender spoke on the podcast about wanting to have children.

Other guests on the returning podcast series include former multiple world champion boxer Ricky Hatton, England’s second most successful bowler Stuart Broad and former Rhinos captain Sinfield.