Tom Davies opens up on mental health struggles during injury layoff

Sheffield United footballer Tom Davies has opened up about his mental health struggles after missing much of last season through injury.
Tom Davies, 26, has spent more time on the sidelines than playing for the Blades since signing for them at the start of the 2023-24 season due to a hamstring injury.
The midfielder said spending several months in rehabilitation had a detrimental effect on his mental health.
Davies, who joined United from hometown club Everton, said: “Football is the only thing and the most important thing, which it has been for me for a long time. But when it was the only thing in my life and it wasn’t going well, it was like my whole world wasn’t going well.
“Being a man involved in football, being a Northern man from a working-class family, it can be that you just work hard and you get on with things.
“You just try your best and things will come good, and you don’t really concern yourself with the other stuff.”
Davies played just nine times last season before travelling to Germany to see a specialist in the summer.
He shared advice for people struggling with their mental health who may be too scared to speak up.
“The thing I realise now on the other side of actually sharing and speaking up is it’s so much more freeing, rather than holding onto these emotions and trying to deal with everything by yourself,” he said.
“Just to let them go and become more free in that way, it can age your life in a whole different way.”
Since breaking through at boyhood club Everton, Davies has always been known for his signature long blonde hair.
But last year he shaved it off to raise awareness for mental health charities.
“I wanted a haircut, it was time for a change for me. I’m very lucky to play football and I’m very lucky I have this platform where I can speak to people like yourself”, he said.
“I try and speak up as much a I can on my Instagram and whenever I get a chance like this I do like to speak about it because I have this opportunity and I want to use it for some good.”
During his time on the sidelines, Davies opened a sustainable business that turns used chopsticks into furniture.
He said: “It’s been a really healthy distraction for me because even though football has probably felt like its been a big stagnant, that’s really grown.
“Taking this journey myself, I can then learn stuff through my day to day life and try and understand what I need to do more of, and I just want to try and do some good in the world.”
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