Darren Fletcher: I support bowel disease sufferers
West Bromwich Albion and Scotland captain Darren Fletcher has told BBC Radio 5 live Daily that he is in "constant" personal contact with dozens of sufferers of ulcerative colitis.
He phones or texts them regularly to offer personal support as they cope with the debilitating condition that almost ended his career.
Fletcher told Adrian Chiles: "I'm pretty much in constant contact with between 20 and 30 people through text message and phone call and maybe their journey through operations and the different stages of it."
The footballer was diagnosed with the inflammatory bowel disease in 2011. His condition couldn't be controlled by drugs, but he has made a full recovery after undergoing reconstructive bowel surgery.
Ulcerative colitis causes ulcers in the large intestine, meaning sufferers need to visit the toilet up to 30 times a day, and only have a few seconds to get there.