Brooks on fatherhood, Ronaldo and European nights

ByOwain Llyr

BBC Sport Wales

The new season promises to be one of both little steps and giant steps for David Brooks.

The 29-year-old midfielder will come up against childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo with Wales in the Nations League before making his European debut with Bournemouth in the Europa League.

At the same time, and more importantly, Brooks and wife Flora are getting ready for their daughter Lottie's first steps.

"She's crawling now and standing up. I'm getting my steps in when I get home," Brooks said to Feast of Football.

"Things have changed from the first couple of months after she was born where you're frightened to do anything.

"I'm enjoying it a lot now, she's got a personality so when you go home there's obviously a lot of enjoyment to be had."

Brooks' story is well documented.

Five years ago, he was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin lymphoma.

He then endured chemotherapy, lost more than a stone in weight and found himself so weakened by the treatment that he struggled to get out of bed.

Seven months later, in May 2022, Brooks declared himself cancer-free before he made his long-awaited return to action in March 2023.

"It feels like a different lifetime ago," Brooks recalls.

"Over the past couple of years, I've kind of got back to a place prior to that. So I feel good, and sometimes I forget that it even happened."

Brooks made his Wales debut in 2017 and could well win his 50th cap by the end of the year as Wales play home and away games against Portugal, Denmark and Norway in Nations League A.

Craig Bellamy's side start their campaign against Portugal in Lisbon on 24 September, and it is a chance for the boyhood Manchester United fan to play against one of his idols - Ronaldo.

"I had one or two of his tops," Brooks said.

"Being on that stage with potentially one of the best players of probably our lifetime - it's just crazy.

"It's a massive accomplishment for me personally to make it back to that point.

"Going to play against the best teams in Europe is obviously a massive bonus for Wales, and we want to showcase our talents and prove to the world that we're not just there to make up the numbers, that we can compete."

Wales are still getting over the bitter disappointment of failing to qualify for the summer's World Cup, while head coach Craig Bellamy came close to moving to Burnley.

And while some former players believe Bellamy has "burnt some bridges", Brooks says they are "getting back to work," with Euro 2028 their next target.

"We've performed well under him over the past couple of years," said Brooks.

"Everyone has personal decisions that they're going to make."

Bournemouth have qualified for European football for the first time in their history after finishing sixth in the Premier League, although the man who masterminded that success is now gone.

Head coach Andoni Iraola left and has subsequently taken over at Liverpool, with Marco Rose replacing him at Vitality Stadium.

"When Andoni told us he was leaving we were a little bit gutted because we did really well last season," Brooks said.

"But changes happen. We wish him all the best at his new club.

"Once this gaffer [Rose] came in he was really friendly. He just wanted to get to know everyone and set out what he wants done.

"We've all really enjoyed training and we did well in pre-season, so we're looking forward to getting the season started to show everyone what we can do."

Bournemouth will find out their Europa League opponents before the end of the month, with the league phase draw taking place on 28 August.

At a capacity of around 11,300, the club's stadium is the smallest in the Premier League by more than 6,000 seats.

But after securing the necessary Uefa licence to host matches, Brooks cannot wait to play European football for the first time in his career.

"I've tasted going abroad with Wales, but I've never done it at club level," he said.

"I'm really looking forward to those European nights and and how special they can be.

"We're all looking forward to the draw and seeing where we're going to end up."

Bournemouth will kick off their Premier League season at Manchester City on Sunday.

One player who should be involved for last season's runners-up is Antoine Semenyo, who is still in Bournemouth's WhatsApp coffee group chat after leaving the Cherries in January.

"We haven't thrown him out yet. To be fair, half of us in that group chat aren't even at Bournemouth anymore. So we might have to make a new one," said Brooks.

"Hopefully I'm not tracking him back too much. He's a fantastic player and we still keep in touch.

"I'm hoping he doesn't score against us, and we all wish he has another good season - after the first game of course."

Bournemouth have never won at Manchester City in the Premier League, but three points at Etihad Stadium on Sunday would be another new experience for Brooks in a season full of firsts.