Prince William offers Danny Rose support over depression comments

The Duke of Cambridge has directly praised Danny Rose after the England defender spoke publicly about his battle with depression.

Rose opened up about his illness in a frank interview ahead of the World Cup in which he described how injury and a family tragedy had triggered a downward spiral, with his involvement in the England set-up offering “salvation”.

He was sidelined for more than eight and a half months last year with a knee complaint, during which time his uncle committed suicide among a series of personal incidents.

Prince William, who is the president of the Football Association, spoke with Rose while visiting the England squad at West Riding County Football Association on Thursday ahead of their final warm-up game against Costa Rica before departing for this summer’s tournament in Russia.

“If you don’t mind me mentioning I think it’s really very good what you did,” Prince William told Rose.

“Well done. You should be really pleased. Loads of support from me on that.”

A few minutes earlier, Prince William was standing with FA chief executive Martin Glenn and chairman Greg Clarke when he told England manager Gareth Southgate he was in “early discussions about doing something next year around mental health”.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, believes Rose could inspire others to open up on mental health issues, adding: “One in four people will experience a mental health problem so it should come as no surprise that professional sportspeople will face these issues too.

“Many people from the world of sport have already made a difference by speaking out.

“Mind research found that over a quarter (28 per cent) of people who know someone with a mental health problem said they had started a conversation with a loved one about their mental health as a direct result of reading or hearing about a celebrity’s experiences.

“A quarter (25 per cent) also said hearing a celebrity talk openly about their own mental health had directly inspired them to seek help for themselves and half (52 per cent) said it has helped them to feel like they weren’t alone.”

Mind says it is working with football authorities, including the Professional Footballers’ Association, to manage mental health issues in the sport.

Farmer added: “Footballers, in particular, experience a unique set of mental health pressures in their jobs from scoring goals and winning trophies, to facing media scrutiny, physical injury and meeting the high expectations of fans.

“It is therefore vital that footballers receive support from the sports sector to tackle the broader stigma around mental health in sport.”

Mind also called on anyone experiencing mental health issues to talk to a family member or friend, or see their GP. For more information on Mind, click here.

(c) Sky News 2018: Prince William offers Danny Rose support over depression comments