FOOTBALLERS will hit the pitch on Saturday with a player firmly in their minds after it was announced the aspiring teenage goalkeeper is undergoing treatment for a tumour on his heart.

Swindon Town Football Club has said that everyone involved with the team had been shocked and saddened to hear that Declan Lehmann, one of the Under-16 goalkeepers currently playing in the STFC academy, had recently been diagnosed with a seminoma tumour in front of his heart.

The teenager is currently braving a course of chemotherapy in a bid to stop the tumour in its tracks. The family is being supported by The CALM Trust - Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Movement Swindon.

The charity supports local families who had a child battling cancer or leukaemia, and is run solely by parents and volunteers.

In a post on the Swindon Town Football Club website, Steve Hale, the team’s head of goalkeeping, said: “It came as a great shock when I was told the news and it hit me hard having worked with Declan for the past seven years.

“He has come through our system from a seven-year-old to currently being our number one in the Under-16s and, at the start of this season, I even involved him in a few sessions with the scholars and first team players.

"The GK Union here is a tight-knit bunch and they, along with all at the club, will be doing all we can to support Declan and his family through this difficult time.”

On Saturday, Swindon Town’s first team ‘Keepers’ Union will show support for Declan by wearing t-shirts in the warm-up against Gillingham.

Declan is understood to have already received messages of support from the club, supporters of STFC and the wider goalkeeping fraternity including former Town stopper, Wes Foderingham.

And keen to allow people to show their support for the teenager’s battle, his father Markus has set up an online fundraising page to support The CALM Trust, a charity who are helping to support the family.

So far the fund has received 81 donations and almost reached £1,500 after being launched at the end of last week.

To make a donation towards the fund click here 

A statement issued by the club added: “Swindon Town would like to place on record their complete support for Declan and his family at this difficult time. Stay strong, Dec.”