Corrin Brooks-Meade: Ex-Fulham and AFC Wimbledon goalkeeper dies after spending a month in a coma

Corrin Brooks-Meade, former Fulham and AFC Wimbledon goalkeeper and Montserrat international, has died at the age of 37 after spending a month in a coma.

Brooks-Meade suffered a sudden stroke and brain bleed on March 5 and remained unconscious until his death on April 5. News of his passing has only just been shared by teammates and the Montserrat football community.

Despite retiring from club football, Brooks-Meade had continued playing internationally for Montserrat and was expected to feature in next month’s CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers. He had been living in Cyprus, where he spent much of his professional career after moving there in 2008.

Montserrat captain and Colchester United forward Lyle Taylor paid tribute, calling Brooks-Meade’s death “the hardest thing” he’s experienced in football.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Taylor said: “You don't expect it to be one of your own. When it's somebody your age who you've spent so much time with over the years and seen grow both as a footballer and as a man, it hits you hard.

“It's going to sound really cliche, but Corrin was a leader. He was a brick wall. He was probably, in all honesty, the best of us as a group. He was just a brilliant person and we're all lucky to have been able to share special moments with him.”

Born in Enfield in 1988, Brooks-Meade came from a footballing family - his uncle, Raphael Meade, played for Arsenal and Real Betis. Corrin played for several clubs in England, including Fulham, Darlington, and AFC Wimbledon, before building a career in Cyprus with clubs such as Ermis Aradippou and Omonia Nicosia.