Players to show support to Stephen Darby this Saturday

Bolton Wanderers' players will be showing their support for teammate Stephen Darby on Saturday ahead of their Sky Bet Championship clash against Derby County at the University of Bolton Stadium.

As they walk out of the tunnel to take to the field prior to kick off, each Wanderers player will wear a special home shirt with the name ‘Darby’ and his squad number ‘23’ on their backs as show of support for Stephen, who retired from the game after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.

After the game, each player will sign the shirt and the club will auction the shirts with proceeds being donated to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Captain David Wheater said: "Following the news of Darbs' diagnosis, we as a team want to show our support for him in any way we can.

"He is without doubt one of the nicest people you will ever meet and is a hugely popular figure around the club. 

"One thing about him though is that he's very strong mentally - he's extremely tough and he will, with all of our backing, stand tall against this horrible disease.

"And these special shirts will hopefully go some way to helping to raise a considerable amount of money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association."

Details of how to bid for the shirts will be announced early next week.

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