Boxer to return to ring after stem cell transplant

Reuben Muston said after what he had been through he was prepared "for everything"

A 20-year-old boxer diagnosed with a rare blood disorder after he had a nose bleed that would not stop is set to return to the ring.

Reuben Muston, from Reading, said sustaining the injury during the final of the National Youth Championships in 2022 was when his "life changed forever".

He was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a potentially life-threatening disorder.

But, following a stem cell transplant, Reuben will be back in the ring in Oxfordshire on Sunday and said he was "ready to take on anything".

Reuben was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia after a nose bleed in the ring would not stop

It is estimated between 100 and 150 people in the UK are diagnosed with the disorder every year.

Reuben said: "Within your blood, you have all different types of cells - mine didn't have any cells.

"There is nothing to clot blood, there's nothing to pass oxygen around the body and there's nothing to fight off infection."

Reuben needed a stem cell transplant, which is when doctors realised he had "very rare" bone marrow.

Reuben said: "There is no one on the planet who matches me perfectly.

"There was only one option and that was to go for a half match, which was my dad - my saviour."

Danny Muston said he was feeling "nervy" ahead of his son's match

His father Danny Muston said: "I basically put myself through six months of really good eating, very healthy eating, I didn't drink any alcohol.

"I just made sure that I was in peak condition, ready for him."

After the successful transplant Reuben is set to return to the ring on Sunday for the quarterfinals of the England Boxing Development Championships in Oxfordshire.

Mr Muston said: "To see him now going back in the ring on Sunday in the championships - it's just a dream."