Fernando Ricksen: ‘I have motor neurone disease’

FORMER Rangers defender Fernando Ricksen has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

Former Rangers star Fernando Ricksen in 2004. Picture: Robert Perry

37-year-old Ricksen, who played 182 times for Rangers between 2000 and 2006, made the revelation in a TV interview in his native Netherlands.

Motor neurone disease, also known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a brain condition that causes muscle weakness, difficulty with speech, and wasting of the muscles.

Ricksen told the programme: “At the moment, I have a little trouble talking. I’ve been seen in hospital with ALS.”

Celtic legend Jimmy Johnstone died of the disease in 2006, for which there is no known cure.