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Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie Bowden shocked the football world by announcing his retirement from professional football at the tender age of 23. Bowden, who joined Tottenham’s academy at the age of six, had a promising career ahead of him, having progressed through to the club’s under-21 side and spending time on loan at League…
Former Manchester United striker Louis Saha has provided insights into Marcus Rashford’s current challenges with the team’s style of play. Rashford, since his impressive 30-goal season during the 2022/23 campaign, has been struggling to find consistent form. Last season, he managed only eight goals, and despite scoring four goals so far this season, his performance…
Dan Burn, a defender for Newcastle United, has found a new perspective away from the pressures of social media. Once searching for ‘gratification’ online, Burn now prioritizes the opinions of those closest to him. Notably, he is one of the few Newcastle players without an Instagram account or a page on X. Burn has shared…
Gary Neville, a Manchester United legend celebrated for his remarkable career, recently shared a profound personal experience relating to mental health that occurred during a flight. Known for his dedication on the field, Neville’s career highlights include over 600 appearances for Manchester United, 85 caps for the England national team, and an impressive collection of…
Eric Dier could not hold back the tears as he spoke for the first time about his former Tottenham team-mate Dele Alli’s brave interview. Dele opened up to Gary Neville in The Overlap podcast this month about the problems in his life, ranging from being sexually abused as a child, dealing drugs as an eight-year-old…
Foster joined the Clarets from Belgian outfit Westerlo in the January window and was on target in the 3-0 win against Wigan in March.
The 22-year-old struggled with his mental health after leaving South Africa to pursue a career in Europe.
In a brave interview with radio station MSW, Foster spoke about one of his darkest points while playing for Westerlo.
“I was in my apartment all by myself. I realised I just felt this huge sense of loneliness,” he said.
“I felt like I couldn’t really express myself with all of my team-mates. It was a lot more difficult to be around them and do things footballers are supposed to do.
“I just used to try and go to training, play games and honestly the best thing to do at that time of my life was to go back home and sleep. There was no real excitement or looking forward to anything.
“That’s when I realised I was in some trouble and I panicked a little bit. I didn’t know what was going on or how to deal with it because it was the first time I was in a position like that.”
Foster admitted he had even considered taking his own life at his lowest point.
Thankfully, the young forward is in a much better place now and says he wakes up “grateful” every day.
He hailed Burnley assistant Craig Bellamy – who has also opened up about his own mental health battles in the past – for his support.
“I’ve got heaps of support. I’ve got family and friends who love me for who I am and that’s more that any human can ask for,” he added.
“The position I’m in as a Burnley player, to be preparing for my first season in the Premier League is something I have dreamed of my whole life.
“I’m smiling again. I’m happy to be around my team-mates and happy to be on the field.
“Thanks to the coach, Craig, who has been a massive help and the club as a whole, who have opened up and spoken to me about it.
“They have helped me tremendously and have my best interests at heart. I wake up every day grateful, ready to go to training and give my best.”
Mauricio Pochettino has reached out to Dele Alli following the 27-year-old’s emotional interview with Gary Neville. The 27-year-old midfielder was once considered as one of the most exciting youngsters in the world, but his career has stuttered in recent years. In an interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap, the former Tottenham star opened up…
Erik ten Hag is convinced Jadon Sancho can demonstrate what a “brilliant footballer” he is now he is back in the Manchester United side. Sancho came off the bench for his first appearance in 102 days against Nottingham Forest last week and equalised to salvage a point against Leeds United in an uproarious 2-2 draw…
Erik ten Hag insists Lisandro Martinez thrives when faced with challenges as he prepares to make his return for Manchester United. Martinez returned to Manchester at the start of the week following his role in Argentina’s World Cup win in Qatar but he was not selected in the squad for the win over Nottingham Forest, having…
Premier League winner Danny Simpson has revealed how Leicester City have helped him through some tough times as he continues to search for a new club. The 35-year-old was part of City‘s title-winning side that also went on to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. Simpson left the Foxes in 2019 and rejoined the club’s u23 side…
Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo has opened up about the heartbreaking loss of his baby son earlier this year. Ronaldo suffered the loss of his newborn son, one of twins, with partner Georgina Rodriguez in April and he released a statement at the time to share the tragic news: “It is with our deepest sadness we have…
Aston Villa defender Ludwig Augustinsson has criticised Cristiano Ronaldo for his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, labelling it as ‘unnecessary’. Villa full-back Augustinsson was also asked about the interview while on international duty with Sweden. The nation are in action against Mexico and Algeria this week after failing to qualify for the World Cup. Ludwig Augustinsson…
Demarai Gray has revealed he suffered breakdowns during the final two years of his Leicester City career with a lack of game-time impacting his mental health. That period took a toll on Gray’s mental health. He said he felt hollow during training sessions, and that while he was there physically, he was not present mentally….
Eddie Howe has hailed the work done by the Newcastle United Foundation during a surprise midweek visit. The Magpies’ boss took time out of his schedule to meet supporters taking part in a walking football match. Alongside assistant coaches Graeme Jones and Jason Tindall, Howe also attended a Football Talks session – a campaign which aims…
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford has admitted he has missed the feeling of scoring goals. Rashford underperformed last season and he eventually lost his starting place under Ralf Rangnick – he scored just five goals across all competitions last term, but he’s already got three in the Premier League this time around. Erik ten Hag has played…
Gareth Southgate has praised Dominic Calvert-Lewin for speaking about about his mental health after the Everton striker posted a heartfelt message on social media on Monday evening. However, the striker also addressed off-field issues which had been playing on his mind over the course of the last few months. Calvert-Lewin said he was now in a…
Eddie Howe says that mental health care at Newcastle United is an area that the club must continue to improve. As Newcastle look to improve themselves as a club in “every department”, something Howe stated recently, the subject of player care has been in the public domain recently. When asked if getting those foundations right at…
BRAVE Sam McQueen detailed the mental struggle he went through whilst battling his physical injuries – admitting that it “ruined me for a certain amount of time”.
An ACL tear suffered whilst playing on loan for Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup eventually proved too much to overcome, with multiple setbacks leading to around nine surgeries since McQueen suffered the injury in October 2018.
This week the Saints academy product announced his retirement after a three-and-a-half year fight to return to competitive football.
In a frank and open interview with Saints’ website, the Southampton-born 26-year-old said: “I didn’t maintain a positive attitude.
“I became quite depressed and (had) probably six months of counselling which was much needed and helped me a little bit, but I still wasn’t able really to be there for my family.
“Open and happy to say now that that I wasn’t capable at the time to deal with those things.
“I thought I was capable to (do) anything.
“I thought I was Superman when I was playing football and playing Premier League football.
“I was completely unaware that I had no capability to deal with any emotional or personal traumas.
“It ruined me for a certain amount of time, and it’s taken three years for my mind to start to process it, and start to feel like myself a bit again.
“(It’s) new – it’s a new challenge. I’ve not had anything like this before.”
Whilst suffering an ACL tear can keep players out for up to 12 months in some cases, it is also associated with a host of complications that can delay or even prevent a return to the field.
McQueen’s recovery was constantly hampered, eventually forcing him to retire from the game he loves.
He continued: “(It was) Bad luck. Bad timing. Bad management from me.
“Week before Christmas, I started getting hot flushes, found out had an infection. So I got rushed up to London to have some emergency surgery to try and flush the infection out of my knee.
“I found out the infection had come back, same infection, so I had to rush up to London again.
“Had to redo the whole operation, taking ligaments in my other leg to try and use to put the knee right there.
“I had that last surgery in July 2019, so from November 2018, to July 2019, it was probably about nine different surgeries I had.”
SAINTS midfielder Will Smallbone has opened up on a tough year, which saw him both battling a serious knee injury as well as losing all his hair.
The 21-year-old had just fought his way back into Saints’ starting XI, when disaster struck in January 2021.
The young midfielder ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during a Premier League contest at Leicester City.
Despite initially attempting to play on, Smallbone was forced off just past the hour mark at King Power Stadium and would not return to the pitch for Saints for nine months.
“It’s never a good time to rupture your ACL,” Smallbone said in an interview with Saints’ matchday programme.
“But especially for me, I’d got back in the team after a few quad injuries and then on my first start (in four months), to do my ACL is not ideal. It was very tough.
“Even when the injury happened, I still didn’t think it was as bad as it ended up being. I carried on playing.
“To get the scan results the following day, straight away you’re thinking that’s six to nine months that I can’t play football.
“It’s such a hard thing to hear. On such a high the day before, to then be told that information was such a low the day after. Everything changes.”
He continued: “After the surgery, for six weeks I couldn’t do anything for myself. Luckily my mum came down and lived with me, which she was buzzing about!
“I had her and my girlfriend to help me. They were both great in those tough times.”
As Smallbone battled with the reality he would not be playing football again for a significant period of time, another hurdle presented itself.
The Republic of Ireland under-21 international explained: “Alopecia is something I’ve had to deal with alongside my injury.
“I first had a really small patch of hair missing, no-one would ever really notice. It was the Leicester game, where in a few photos you could see a bigger patch appearing.
“Now it’s actually growing back, but to lose it all is very tough.
“Alongside such a big injury, it probably couldn’t have happened at a worse time for me personally, to have both of these things going on.
“The doctors can’t say if they are linked.
“Because of the injury and the stress of being out for so long, they can’t say if that caused it, but the timings line up. It would make sense for them to coincide.
“Mine was a gradual, steady increase of how bad it was. It started off as a really small patch of hair I was missing, which slowly grew and then eventually just started falling out from all sides.
“The doctor’s advice was just to shave it because eventually it was going to get to that anyway.”
He continued: “When it first happened, it’s a tough thing to deal with.
“But at the end of the day, it’s just hair. I suppose I’m in a situation where I’m playing on TV and there’s kids watching, who made have to deal with the same thing.
“It’s to show that it isn’t the end of the world.
“Sometimes, in life, you have to get on with difficult things that are thrown at you.
“The best thing people did was try not to treat me any differently or act like too much had changed. The best thing everyone did was to act normal around me.
“Obviously now everyone can make jokes, because I’ve come to terms with it. But no-one ever made me feel like it was weird, or something to be ashamed of.
“You just have to embrace it. Obviously in life things are going to happen that you have no control over. In an ideal world, I would not have lost my hair, and no-one would lose their hair to alopecia. But the best thing you can do is take it in your stride.
“I’d be lying if I said I was always positive about my situation. It was such a shock. To go from having a full head of hair to having none in such a short space of time was quite a big thing to deal with.
“There were many down days, especially at the start. It’s such a personal thing.
“You speak to people about it, but they don’t necessarily understand it because it hasn’t happened to them.
“I had such good support around me – my family and at the club – to just get on with it and use it as the next challenge to overcome.”
Smallbone, who made his first-team return in the Carabao Cup clash at Chelsea in October, could feature when Saints head to Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday (3pm), having been an unused substitute for the past four fixtures.
Mikel Arteta has paid tribute to his family for supporting him during an unprecedented first full season as Arsenal manager. Mikel Arteta said “I’m very lucky because I could not ask for anything else, starting from my wife. She understands every situation, all the time the support, the love, the energy that they’re able to create…
