Juniors star sidelined by same illness as Darren Fletcher

AS footballers, they are worlds apart.

But Dalkeith Thistle player Thomas Waters has more in common with Manchester United ace Darren Fletcher than the fact he plays in the star’s hometown.

For as Thomas, 24, read about the health problems of the Scottish captain, something struck a chord.

Left-back Thomas knew he had been experiencing similar symptoms to the ones which forced Fletcher to take an indefinite break from the game.

Doctors are now almost sure Thomas is suffering from the bowel condition ulcerative colitis just like 27-year-old Fletcher.

“Folk were coming up to me asking if I had the same thing Fletcher has,” said the labourer from Cameron Toll.

“It always played on my mind when I read about it, but I would have gone to the doctor anyway.”

He is currently undergoing tests in the Western General, where medics are 90 per cent sure they have identified the illness.

He has been told to take at least a month out while they decide if surgery is necessary, though his preference is for medication to control the illness.

“It’s hard to say what will happen,” he said. “It would be better to have it controlled by medication, that way I’ll be able to return to more or less a normal life, only with a couple of lifestyle tweaks.

“I’ve really been missing the football but the lads have been great, I’ve even got my football computer game here to keep me going.

“I was actually relieved when they told me it was probably this because I was worrying it would be much worse.

“Apart from having to go to the toilet all the time, I actually feel totally fine. It’s strange being in a hospital when you can walk around more or less as normal.”

Thomas has met Fletcher only once, when a mutual friend arranged for tickets last year to watch a Premier League clash.

But he appreciates the profile he has given the illness.

“It might help folk to cope with it, I wouldn’t say it’s made it any easier for me personally,” he said.

“But it is helpful to have someone of his profile associated with it for awareness.”

Dalkeith Thistle manager Willie Pearson said: “We don’t know what’s going to happen yet.

“He’s got to take a month off then they’ll assess him. But the lad’s only 24 and this doesn’t mean it’s the end of his playing days.”

Despite the condition’s fairly low profile, doctors said it was significantly more common in Scotland than elsewhere in western Europe.

Aside from a generally poorer diet, the reasons for this are still unknown, but experts have suggested up to one in 200 people north of the Border suffers from either colitis or the closely related Crohn’s disease.