Jesse Lingard is determined to rediscover his best form at Nottingham Forest after overcoming his battle with depression.
The 29-year-old has spoken openly about his problems with mental health for a spell during his time at Manchester United, leading up to the first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. His mother had been hospitalised with clinical depression and the Forest midfielder took over the responsibility of caring for two of his younger siblings but began to experience his own mental health issues.
Lingard admitted that he considered taking a break from football as he found himself on “autopilot”. However, his former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the club doctor at Man United helped the England international get the help he needed and Lingard was delighted to see his mother enjoying Forest’s win over Crystal Palace, having also made a recovery.
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“My mum was at the game the other day and she was dancing in the box and that makes me happy. We’re always having banter,” Lingard told talkSPORT . “She has down days and she’ll message me and I’ll try and guide her in that sense; but seeing her at the game, and it was a big win, it was a good day all round.”
The midfielder initially struggled to make an impact at the City Ground after arriving as a free agent this summer. Though Lingard believes Forest fans have begun to see sparks of the player that was a key figure for England at the 2018 World Cup and produced terrific performances, while on loan at West Ham.
“I didn’t have a pre-season so that didn’t help. I then had a couple of niggles so was in and out of the team at first,” Lingard continued.
“The past couple of games have been better, the Tottenham and Crystal Palace games were like the real Jesse Lingard. It takes time. Of course I wanted to start like I started at West Ham, scoring goals and getting assists, but I know I will come good in the end as I always work hard behind the scenes.”
After speaking out about his depression, Lingard worked with Channel 4 on a documentary about his mental health, which will be available on All 4 later this week. He has emphasised the importance of sharing your problems and explained that his confidence slowly began to return after speaking about his issues.
“I was just trying to mask it at training and around the people closest to me but as soon as I spoke that was a huge relief off my shoulders,” he said. “Opening up is the best thing you can do.
“I was a person to bottle things up and it clearly didn’t work. You can’t fight your own battles, you need someone to help you. I want to inspire more people to speak out.”
Will Lingard show his best form after the World Cup break? Let us know in the comments section...
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