Norwich City goalkeeper Dan Barden has been able to turn his cancer struggles into a positive as he looks to take the next step in his career.

The Welsh youth international announced his diagnosis with testicular cancer in 2021, but returned to playing just seven months later.

A serious knee injury at the end of last season served as another blow to the 23-year-old, keeping him out of action until January this year.

With his health and fitness issues behind him, however, Barden is able to look forward to a positive future having signed a new two-year contract at Carrow Road.

"It's been a tough few years for me personally, I've had quite a few setbacks," he said. "It's not been ideal, and I've not been where I wanted to be.

"The club has stood by me the whole way, which has been amazing. My family and myself really appreciate that, and I'm ready to have a good amount of time to play and show what I can do.

"The cancer happened when I was quite young. Looking at the positives, it's done quite a lot for my resilience and helped to change me as a person, which has helped my football. I look at things differently and try to use it as a positive more than a negative.

"I'm feeling physically fit now, I've come back from an ACL injury last season, which happened when I was out on loan. I'm feeling good now, really fit, and ready to keep playing.

"Cancer is a real perspective changer. It was a big change for me when I was young, and I had to get used to that when I was young.

"That perspective you gain from being in a tough situation, I try to use it in my football now. I get less angry and it's nice to have those reality checks."

The plan for Barden is to spend time on loan again next term, having missed valuable game time with those struggles in recent years.

"I think I need to get minutes, I need to go and play," he continued, speaking on official club channels.

"Next year I think it's looking like a loan. For me I think that's ideal. I want to go out and play and get minutes that I've missed out on in the last few years. That's important for me to go and play some football again."