‘I Prayed for an Injury’: The Mental Health Crisis in Football
June brings a pause for reflection on men’s mental wellbeing, including in football, where emotions often stay in the background. Vulnerability often clashes with the demand for strength. Players push through pain. Emotions stay buried. Admitting you’re struggling? Still seen as a risk. But behind the weekly matches and roaring crowds lies a different reality, one where mental health issues quietly shape the lives of many professionals.
Breaking the Silence: Football’s Mental Health
And it’s time we face it. Behind the scenes, though, mental health struggles are far more common than many realize. According to FIFPRO (2021), nearly 38% of professional footballers report symptoms of anxiety or depression during their careers. And the risks grow even more serious when injuries come into play.
The Mental Weight of Recovery
A FIFPRO study shows that over a third of active professional players experience depressive symptoms during or after injury. The risk rises with multiple injuries. Players who suffer three or more severe, time-loss injuries during their careers are two to nearly four times more likely to experience symptoms of common mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, distress, sleep disturbances, or alcohol misuse, than players without such injuries (FIFPRO, 2016). These numbers point to something deeper, something the current system often fails to address. Resilience is part of football culture. But somewhere, resilience became silence. Players often hide the pain. They return to training before they feel ready. The physical recovery might go well, but the emotional wounds remain. Football recovery often comes with timelines: “six weeks out,” “back next month.” It suggests a clear path back. But mental recovery doesn’t work like that. It can be uneven, slow, and different for every player. Imagine being with your team but feeling distant. You’re there, but not really part of it. These moments are not caught in scans or tests, but they are just as real.
Stigma Still in Play
While mental health is being discussed more often in football, stigma remains a quiet but persistent presence. Many players grow up learning that toughness means staying quiet. From an early age, they are taught to control their emotions and overcome obstacles. The belief that discussing mental health challenges is a sign of weakness continues in the world of football. As Bauman (2016) describes, professional sports environments often promote emotional control, leaving little room for vulnerability. This mindset affects more than just how players talk, it also shapes how they understand what they’re feeling. Doubt, stress, or emotional pain is often minimized or ignored altogether. Players may think they’re failing personally, rather than recognizing these emotions as human and valid. Former football star Thierry Henry, has provided rare insight into this hidden pressure. In the “Diary of a CEO” podcast, he described periods of deep emotional isolation throughout his career. He explained how the weight of expectation, combined with football’s culture of silence, made it difficult for him to express his feelings openly. His honesty challenges the outdated belief that expressing emotion is a flaw.
Real Voices, Real Impact
Step by step, more active and former, are choosing to speak about the mental toll of the game. Their words add a human touch to a topic that has been overlooked for far too long. Simon Church, a former Bournemouth striker, has spoken openly about how his career was cut short by repeated injuries. The physical pain was miserable, but what followed was even more difficult, he felt lost and unsure of what to do next. After retiring earlier than planned, he began sharing his story to show other players that they are not alone in their struggles when the game unexpectedly ends. Former Albion Rovers player Mark McGuigan, who now works to help elite athletes, discusses the deep identity crisis that many players experience when they are injured. Sidelined players frequently lose sight of who they think they are in addition to being removed from the game. He refers to this sense of purposelessness as “occupational deprivation”.
Being unable to play can make athletes feel unnoticed, insecure, and emotionally lost because their identity is so strongly linked to their performance. It’s more than just missing matches; it’s also about missing purpose. There are also voices from inside the game. Michail Antonio, who is still playing for West Ham, admitted that he once wished for an injury just to get rid of the weight on his shoulders. It was therapy that allowed him to reconnect with the sport he once enjoyed. Since then, he has used his podcast and interviews to speak openly, inspiring others to do the same. These stories are important because they reveal what happens behind the scenes, and what can change if players stop hiding their struggles. Speaking up will not solve everything. However, it allows others to follow in their footsteps.
Leading with Care: Putting Mental Health First in Football
Supporting injured players entails more than simply getting them physically fit. Mental readiness is equally important but frequently overlooked. A footballer may be back on the pitch but feel disconnected, uncertain, or mentally exhausted. When those internal struggles go unnoticed, the risk of re-injury, performance anxiety, or even premature career endings rises. True recovery involves the entire person, not just the injured part. This calls for a cultural shift. According to Reardon et al. (2019), athletes benefit the most from a holistic strategy that includes emotional and psychological support as well as physical treatment. Coaches and medical staff are more than just performance facilitators; they also contribute to the athlete’s social environment. Their leadership and empathy can influence a player’s willingness to open up. Safety begins with small, consistent acts of care. A single powerful question, “What do you need?”, can make all the difference. It promotes honesty, trust, and prioritizes the player’s unique experience. Encouraging openness over endurance and presence over pressure makes recovery personal rather than procedural.
Mental health care should not be treated as an emergency response. Instead, it should be included as part of athlete support from the start. Too often, psychological support is provided after problems have got worse. However, by then, players may feel isolated, misunderstood, or even ashamed of their struggles. Integrating mental health professionals early, like physiotherapists or performance coaches, normalizes emotional care and sends a strong message: your well-being is important, not just your output. Clubs that adopt this holistic and preventive approach are already seeing results.
Liverpool FC, for instance, achieved a 64.3% reduction in injuries compared to the previous season, according to This Is Anfield. While smarter workload management played a major role, creating a supportive environment, where players feel cared for both physically and mentally, likely contributed to this remarkable improvement. When football organizations commit to viewing players as complete individuals rather than just performers, they help to develop safer, more sustainable careers. It becomes the norm, not the exception, to offer emotional support. And recovery moves from short-term repair to long-term resilience. The industry has to change beyond reactive strategies and integrate empathy into its structure, because, in the end, a mentally healthy player is not only more stable, but also more empowered to succeed on and off the pitch.
Keep the change going
Small changes can cause significant shifts. The PFA’s 24/7 mental health support and FIFPRO’s “Footballers Unfiltered” platform are positive steps forward. Real change, however, requires everyone: players who speak out without fear, leaders who put people first, and clubs that create space for care. Although Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month is a good time to remember, the need is not limited to just one month. Every footballer is a person with dreams, doubts, and unseen struggles. Let us create a culture in which mental health is not an afterthought.
