England and Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has opened up about his mental health, revealing he was forced to seek professional help during the Euro 2020 tournament as his mental health ‘plummeted’.
According to Mings, his mental struggles left him feeling like 95 per cent of the country were doubting him.
Speaking with The Sun, Mings revealed he had difficulty preparing for the tournament opener between England and Croatia.
He said: “I did have a tough time in the lead-up to the opening game against Croatia.
“I think I’m a lot more hardened to outside influences now, but my mental health did plummet. And I have no shame in admitting that because there was so many unknowns about me going to that game.
“I was probably the only name on the teamsheet that people thought, ‘Not sure about him’. And that was something I had to overcome. When 90-95 per cent of your country are having doubts over you, it’s very difficult to stop this intruding on your own thoughts.
“So I did a lot of work on that with my psychologist. It was hard. I didn’t really sleep very well before that first game.”
Mings is speaking out after American gymnastics star Simone Biles has made headlines at the Olympics by pulling out of several events due to a mental health issue, while England all-rounder Ben Stokes is taking an indefinite break from cricket to safeguard his mental wellbeing.
Wings, 28, added: “It’s just great that we are playing in a time now when you can speak about mental health, and how you are feeling.
“We have seen with Simone Biles you can speak on how you are feeling and hopefully feel supported by many people.”
