"My wife was at home and she was asking the doctors, ‘is he going to be okay?’ He couldn’t actually give her the answer that I was going to be alright because a high percentage of people who have what I had don’t actually make it."
Connor Roberts' journey to the World Cup has been far from conventional. While acting as a key cog in Wales' qualification for the tournament, the defender endured a torrid festive period almost 12 months ago as he was struck down by a serious bout of pneumonia.
Roberts was admitted to hospital and thankfully went on to make a full recovery, although he fostered huge concerns over whether he would be able to maintain his notoriously high energy levels when he returned to the game — or, rather, if he returned.
