Former Wolves and Cardiff ahead Jay Bothroyd has revealed among the dangers he took throughout his profession whereas hiding epilepsy and desires he had been open about his situation.
Bothroyd made a solitary England look in 2010, however hid the very fact he had seizures for almost all of his twenty years within the sport.
The ex-Arsenal trainee additionally believes there different gamers who’re affected by the situation however are retaining it secret.
Throughout a wide-ranging interview with the Mail on Sunday, the 41-year-old disclosed an incident the place he blacked out whereas driving and crashed his automobile in Elstree earlier than he ended up in a jail cell “coated in all this blood” after he had one other episode the place he banged his head towards a wall.
“I want I’d have spoken about epilepsy earlier however I didn’t as a result of I felt that they could give me a short-term contract or pay-as-you-play,” Bothroyd stated.
“I by no means denied it, I simply didn’t discuss it. I needed to earn a residing. I needed safety for myself and my household. There’s in all probability extra footballers on the market which have the identical situation who received’t say something.
“Epilepsy affected my efficiency. There have been a great deal of occasions I had unhealthy video games due to it, once I wasn’t absolutely centered or I had behind my thoughts a fear like, ‘s***, I haven’t taken my tablets.’
“I as soon as had a seizure and performed two days later – as a result of I stated I needed to. They stated to me, ‘do you suppose you’re all proper to play?’ and I stated, ‘yeah’. They didn’t make me play, however they didn’t say ‘you shouldn’t play’.
“I scored in that sport!
“It’s about outcomes. Again then I couldn’t say, ‘sorry I can’t are available in, I’ve had a seizure,’ as a result of I feel individuals would have checked out it like an indication of weak point.”