Dylan Tombides

Dylan James Tombides (8 March 1994 – 18 April 2014) was an Australian footballer who played as a striker for West Ham United and the Australia U17 and Australia U23 teams.

Club career

Tombides played youth team football in Australia and Hong Kong before joining West Ham United aged 15. Playing for West Ham in their reserve team he was an unused substitute in the Premier League game on 22 May 2011 against Sunderland.

On 25 September 2012, he made his professional debut for West Ham in a 4–1 home defeat to Wigan Athletic in the League Cup coming on as an 84th-minute substitute for Gary O'Neil.[3][4]

International career

Tombides played in the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico in 2011. He represented Australia in games against Côte d'Ivoire, Brazil, Denmark and Uzbekistan, scoring the winner against Côte d'Ivoire. In January 2014, he represented Australia at the AFC U-22 Championship in Muscat, Oman. He played in games against Oman, Iran, Japan, reaching the quarter-final stage against Saudi Arabia.

Cancer diagnosis and death

In 2011, Tombides was diagnosed with testicular cancer, discovered after a random drugs test taken shortly after he had played for Australia's U-17 team in a 4–0 defeat against Uzbekistan in the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico.

In June 2012, after treatment, Tombides was told he was back to full health and returned to training. He finally made his first team debut for West Ham in September 2012 during a League Cup tie against Wigan Athletic. However, he died on the morning of 18 April 2014, with his family surrounding his bedside.