Bristol Rovers assistant head coach Paul Raynor has revealed he has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. The 60-year-old said doctors had found a tumour and that he would undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy, starting later this month.
Raynor said the cancer had not spread to any major organs, describing that as a “massive positive”, and added that he had been told the chances of success were high. “We’re going to try and beat this,” he told the club website. “We will beat this and then be back on the grass helping the guys later in the season with a bit of luck.”
He made clear he intends to stay as close to the day-to-day running of the team as his treatment allows. “The plan is I’m going to be here as much as possible. I’m going to be there on matchdays, and I aim to be and I want to be. If I’m well enough, I certainly will be.”
Raynor joined Rovers boss Steve Evans at the Memorial Stadium in December 2025, helping the club avoid relegation to the National League. They are among the favourites for promotion from League Two this season.
The diagnosis followed a screening sample he had submitted after his wife badgered him into doing it. “I was a typical man and left it, with my wife badgering me into doing it,” Raynor said. “So I did it and a week later I was told there was an abnormal reading, and I had to go in for a full check. Within an hour, I was sat with a consultant and being told they had found a tumour.”
Raynor’s long-standing partnership with Evans has taken in nine different clubs, beginning at Boston United and later including Crawley Town, Rotherham United, Leeds United and Stevenage. “I’ve known and worked with the gaffer for 25 years and he’s a massive friend and these last few weeks he’s been absolutely immense but everyone has,” he added, also crediting his wife Karen. “If it wasn’t for my good lady Karen I wouldn’t have sent the sample off and it could’ve been too late and the ramifications could be anything. They’re telling me there’s a good chance it’s curable but if I hadn’t done that sample it could’ve been a lot, lot worse.”
He used the news to urge others not to delay screening. “The message is, get your samples done, whatever tests you need go and get it done because it’s massively important.”