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Football: New Zealand defender Stott diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma

FILE PHOTO: Rebekah Stott, at an event in 2020
New Zealand women's national football team player Rebekah Stott speaks to the media as Sydney Opera House lights up in celebration of Australia and New Zealand's joint bid to host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup on Jun 25, 2020. (File photo: Reuters/Loren Elliott)
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MELBOURNE: New Zealand and Brighton & Hove Albion defender Rebekah Stott said on Wednesday (Mar 3) that she had been diagnosed with stage 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer, and will need to go through four months of chemotherapy.

The 27-year-old got her medical reports while in quarantine in England but returned to her home in Australia last month to seek treatment.

Stott represented Australia at the youth level before playing for New Zealand, the country of her birth, at the senior level. She won the W-League title three times with Melbourne City from 2016 to 2018.

"I knew there was something not right. I had two big lumps on my neck that were growing," Stott, who has 71 caps for New Zealand, said in a video on Twitter.

"I was actually in quarantine when I got the results that I had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"I know it's not going to be easy but I really want to go through this with a positive attitude and try and encourage and inspire others to be able to do the same."

Source: Reuters/kg