Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard is helping West Ham mount an unprecedented European challenge and could even qualify for the Champions League next season. However, the Englishman nearly took a break from football due to mental health issues.
“Not quit football, just have a time out really. I was going into games happy sitting on the bench and that’s not me. I was telling my brother the other day: ‘Remember when I was happy sitting on the bench and all this?’
I didn’t want to play because my mind wasn’t there, I wasn’t focused at all. I was thinking about other things and obviously bottling it all up; trying to play football, you can’t do it.”
the 28-year-old told the entertainment show Presenting.
Another major reason for Lingard to consider a break from the sport was his mother’s continuous issues with depression. The Englishman admitted that he struggled to deal with the situation and felt the games were passing him by.
“Through the years we had the help for her, but even just for me it’s hard to bottle things up,”
“It feels like you’re not the same person. I felt like I wasn’t Jesse Lingard.”
he said.
Lingard has since moved to London and is currently playing some of the best football of his career. The attacker is back in the international picture as well and was picked by the England national team manager Gareth Southgate for the previous international window.
Lingard has scored nine times in ten Premier League matches this season and also has four assists to his name. His form has been key to West Ham’s surge up the table, with the Hammers currently sitting in the fifth position, ahead of Liverpool and level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea.
