In the last few years, we have started to become accustomed to high-profile footballers talking about mental health problems. One recurring theme in their testimonies has been the damaging psychological impact of being denied regular first-team football.
Danny Rose revealed he had suffered from depression prior to last year's FIFA World Cup and said losing his place in the Tottenham Hotspur team after injury had been "the start of" his problems. Burnley winger Aaron Lennon said being frozen out of the first-team picture at Everton left him in a place where "you don't actually feel like a footballer.