Conor (29) will be among the Elswick Boot and Shoe team taking on Great Eccleston’s White Bull at Elswick Village Hall pitch at 3 pm on Sunday ( 9th June). The game will be followed by a party with live music at home team pub The Boot and Shoe.

Technically, Conor could just have easily lined up for the opposition as his job is in Great Eccleston at The Farmers’ Arms but players from both teams are just happy to have him on the pitch as back in January, Conor was diagnosed with Stage 4 testicular cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and lungs.

He had to undergo surgery followed by three months of grueling chemotherapy at Rosemere Cancer Centre, which cost him his hair. His friends and family rallied round him though and shaved their heads in a “Cut to the Chase” challenge that raised more than £3,000 for Rosemere Cancer Foundation.

Connor’s brother Tom, who works as a film location manager in London, their friend Matt Hesmondhalgh, who also now works in London as a TV sports editor, and Greg Slater, who is married to Stephanie, Conor and Tom’s cousin, boosted funds by taking on a sponsored skydive in Oxfordshire.

Stephanie, who has a six-month-old daughter Raya, was part of the team but skydived with the Black Knights in Cockerham.

Mum Andrea Whitehead, who works as a midwifery manager at the Royal Preston Hospital’s Sharoe Green Maternity Unit as well as running Elswick’s village store with husband Sean, said: “The year couldn’t have started any worse but Conor is a strong and cheerful character and he’s just got on with it.

“Conor has been a Trojan. He has had amazing support from his wonderful group of friends and family and from all the community in Elswick. They really have rallied around him.

“When Conor lost his hair, they did too. They have jumped out of planes and they have now come up with the idea of Conor’s ‘testi-monial’ match following Conor having one of his testicles removed at the start of his treatment. The match is not only about raising funds but also awareness of the importance of testicular self-examination among men of all ages.”

Andrea added: “We are so grateful for their support and the funds they have already raised. We are also so grateful to Conor’s consultant, Prof Alison Birtle. She has nicknamed Conor ‘Bun Boy’ as being a chef, he takes in buns for her and her team when he has an appointment. Most of all, we are just so grateful to have reached a point where Conor’s cancer is in remission and he can actually make an appearance in the match.”

Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated at Rosemere Cancer Centre, the region’s specialist cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, and at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties.

The charity funds cutting-edge equipment, clinical research, staff training and innovative services and initiatives that the NHS cannot afford in order to make patients’ cancer journey more effective, comfortable and stress-free. For further information on its work, including how to make a donation, visit www.rosemere.org.uk