Between losing his shin guards, his grandfather dying and the school holidays, Dace missed quite a few soccer training sessions and all his matches for about two months.

When I dropped him off to training tonight, he was met by a whole anxious bunch of little soccor players, relieved beyond words that he was back.

"Oh my god!" one of the little girls cried, thrilled beyond measure to see him, "Dace! We heard you'd died of swine flu, and that's why you weren't at training!"

Who says 9 year olds don't listen to the news? :)

Oh my. This is how rumours get started...