On court Steve Gill – who lost his legs and an eye in a 1989 IRA attack – wears the number 23 made famous by Becks, 35, and hoops ace Michael Jordan, 47.
Ultra-competitive Steve Gill won the honour off a team-mate during training.
Leicester Cobras pal Jignesh Vaidya said: “It used to be my shirt and we had a little game in training. Steve Gill won it and that’s why he’s now number 23. I was gutted!”
Pals say Steve Gill, 40, who also coaches other players, will surprise housemates with his never-say-die attitude.
The dad-of-eight rebuilt his life after a beer barrel bomb exploded in Belfast’s Falls Road.
IRA sympathisers who saw he was still alive then set an alsatian dog on the soldier, who was just 19 at the time.
But since then Steve Gill has become a role model for other Forces amputees.
He even crewed a yacht across the Atlantic despite being terrified of water.
A spokesman for service amputee charity BLESMA, which ran the trip, said: “Our events are challenges, not holidays. They are designed to push the lads all the way.”
