Liverpool Skipper Jordan Henderson Reveals How Father's Illness Has Spurred Him On to Better Things
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson has told of the time his father was informed he had throat cancer, and how he felt compelled to raise his game on the pitch to help get him through the tough ordeal.
The England man, who is in contention to lead his country with the armband in Russia this summer, took some time out to sit down with journalist Oliver Holt during the club's break in the Costa del Sol to speak about a range of topics.
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The 27-year-old discussed how the Reds have fared this season, the Brendan Rodgers era and reiterated how he came close to leaving a few years ago, but also candidly recalled the time he learned his father Brian became stricken with cancer and how he dealt with the bombshell.
He said, as quoted by the Mail: "What my dad went through made me more of a man. It puts things into perspective quickly. I say that football is everything to me but when things like that happen, you realise there are other very important things outside football. I took that quite hard at the time. It was a shock because I had never dealt with anything like that before.
"He is a very proud man and he didn’t want me to see him when he was getting treatment because of how he looked. I knew the only thing I could do, the only way I could help him, was play well on the weekend because I knew he’d be watching.
"That’s a different pressure. I wanted to play well to help my dad be healthy again and, if I can do that, I can play in any circumstances."
Thankfully Henderson's father was given the all clear, and he will be attendance to watch his son captain Liverpool in the Champions League final next weekend against Real Madrid.
