David Brooks took the plaudits when Wales players were last together in March after scoring the 96th-minute equaliser in North Macedonia which preserved Craig Bellamy’s unbeaten record as head coach.
There were more congratulations for Brooks when the Wales squad reconvened for World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Belgium this week, but for entirely different reasons.
Brooks and wife Flora revealed on social media earlier this week that they are to become parents, with their baby due on 1 November.
For Brooks, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, the news is especially joyous given that there were questions about whether this time would ever come.
“I always wanted to start a family. My wife and I wanted kids at some point,” the 27-year-old says.
“Obviously when I was diagnosed, you have those conversations and there were never any guarantees that I would be able to have children in the future. There was a chance it wouldn’t have been possible.
“But I was really lucky that it came naturally. After my treatment things went back to normal, so of course I was really happy. There were a few tears, but we are really looking forward to it.”
Brooks was 24 when he was diagnosed with Stage Two Hodgkin lymphoma in October 2021.
There were “dark times” for the attacking midfielder but, after several months of chemotherapy, he was declared cancer free in May 2022.
He returned to first-team football with Bournemouth in March 2023 and was back in the Wales squad that summer.
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