Former England international Fara Williams is still set to play at Soccer Aid this weekend, despite suffering a ‘potential’ relapse of her kidney condition.
Williams suffers from Nephrotic Syndrome –– a condition caused by damage to the clusters of small blood vessels in the kidneys.
The condition forced Williams to take a break from football while playing for Reading back in 2020 and she has been forced to take steroids in order to treat the illness.
Eventually, the Lionesses icon found a way to cope with the medication and even made a return to professional football.
Having now retired, the 38-year-old is due to appear in this year’s Soccer Aid at the London Stadium.
However, Williams has revealed she’s been struggling again with the illness in the past few weeks.
“I’ve actually been ill these past two weeks so could be relapsing my condition,” she said.
“I’ve started to leak protein again from my kidneys. I’ve got some tests coming next Tuesday. It’s not curable, I have to live with it.
“I came off the steroids a few months ago and I’ve been fine health-wise up until the last couple of weeks.
“I’m meant to be playing Soccer Aid but I haven’t been able to train for it, so we’ll see.”
Williams also admitted she’s worried about a culture of eating orders developing in women’s football.
The steroids she was prescribed for her condition caused her to put on weight and the midfielder says she was used to players being shamed for how they looked throughout her career.
"I always thought there was an issue with women's football," she said.
"For me, to label something as 'fat club' as a professional is crazy."
"I was always worried as a player. I was never in 'fat club'. I would never go - I would just not play the game.
"But it was a term openly used at big clubs in the Women's Super League. An openly used term - you go into 'fat club'."
Though Williams has been unable to train, she has still been named in England’s squad list for the charity fixture.
The England side features other notable former female football stars, including Anita Asante and Eni Aluko.
Joining the ex-Lionesses are the likes of Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and London Stadium legend Mark Noble.
The match takes place on Sunday, June 12th and kick-off is at 7:30 pm.