'KEEP ON FIGHTING'
HARRY Kane vowed to beat Sweden today in a pledge to a young England fan battling a brain tumour.
The Three Lions skipper was inspired by a heart-warming video of five-year-old Ben Williams being presented with a replica World Cup trophy by hospital staff.
7
Ben, who could not walk or talk before life-saving radiotherapy, asked for the Cup when his speech returned.
The clip went viral and was seen by the England players, including Spurs ace Harry, 24, who tweeted yesterday: “Hi Ben, I’ve seen your video and you are an inspiration.
“Carry on fighting and we’ll do everything we can on Saturday to keep a smile on your face! #BensWorldCup.”
The hashtag started trending after radiographer Liam Herbert filmed Ben clutching the trophy in his England kit at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
7
He posted it on Twitter and asked Kane and the rest of Gareth Southgate’s boys if they could also make Ben’s wish come true with the real thing.
Liam wrote: “Ben asked for the World Cup, so we delivered. @England and @HKane can you do the same?
“This young lion deserves the World Cup for his bravery!”
Former England captain Rio Ferdinand tweeted: “Love this #Worldcup2018Russia.”
7
7
Ben’s dad Sam, 38, and mum Joanne, 36, from Birmingham, praised the hospital staff.
Sam said: “They had already been absolutely wonderful, but what the staff in radiology did for him on his last day of treatment was just so special.
“You can see from his face, he was just delighted. Six weeks ago, Ben couldn’t talk or walk but we’ve essentially seen our little boy come back to us.
“He really liked football before he got ill and has suddenly gone England crazy.
7
7
7
“So much so that ‘England’ and ‘Harry Kane’ are some of the first words he learned to say again as his speech came back. We got him an England kit a few weeks ago and he’s pretty much refused to take it off since.
“We’ve resorted to washing it overnight while he’s in bed.”
most read in WORLD CUP
Sam said he had nothing but praise for the NHS on its 70th birthday. He added: “We hear a lot about how the NHS is broken, but our experience of it has suggested the opposite.
“We will never be able to express how thankful we are.”
Joanne added: “It just demonstrates how personal it is with Ben, he’s not just a number they genuinely care about him.”
She added: “Famous person after famous person sent messages, and when we saw the message from Harry Kane that’s what this has all been about to get Ben’s favourite player to give him a shout-out.”
FROM RUSSIA WITH LIVE All the latest action, news, goals and gossip from the World Cup
Harry added: “Every now and then something will come along that will catch our eye and yeah the little lad was an inspiration so I was happy to tweet him.”
England fans also took to Twitter to wish Ben the best. Marco Korner said: “Saw your video and now I hope even more than before that #itscominghome.”
Ben said: “Come on England.”
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.
Topics