Former Manchester United star Phil Jones has revealed his harrowing journey through emotional turmoil due to his lengthy lay-offs from injury.
The 32-year-old, who hung up his boots in August, played a mere 13 games in his last four seasons at the club.
Jones was a young sensation when he first made waves at Blackburn Rovers, yet his promising career took a hit at just 18 following a meniscus tear, signalling the onset of his long-standing fitness troubles.
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Jones racked up over 200 appearances for the Red Devils, although most were clocked during the early part of his tenure. In the twilight years of his time with United, battling knee pain became the norm, with relief coming via painkillers and steroids.
In an interview with The Sun, Jones confessed his struggles had inflicted ‘mental trauma’, driving him to reach out for professional psychological support and therapy. He expressed: “As footballers you have to put this mask on. You get paid a lot of money so you are not allowed to have feelings or emotions.
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(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
“The physical injuries made me mentally weak at times.
“Obviously, people will ask, ‘Why is he is always injured?’ as though they think that I wake up one day and think, ‘Oh, yeah, I fancy being injured today’,” reports the Express.
“But my coping mechanism was to be silent, put my guard up, my shield up around with my really close family. I wouldn’t even really communicate with my friends that well.”
(Image: Getty Images)
He avoided social media to dodge the hatred thrown his way, confessing: “Anybody who tells you that it doesn’t (bother them) is lying.”
The footballer reportedly pocketed over £40million at Old Trafford, despite significant time out with injuries. Yet Jones has clapped back at claims he didn’t deserve the dough.
“People say, ‘You shouldn’t take that money then’,” he quipped. “If they only knew what I was doing behind the scenes to get right. Flip that on its head and say, ‘I’ll tell you what then, what I’ll do is I’ll take the money away from you and see if you go back into work’. Everybody’s got to earn money.”
At just 32, Jones hung up his boots, calling it a ‘relief’. Post-retirement, he has been coaching United’s young guns, eyeing a future in coaching.