Football Legend Gary Lineker Delivers Alarming Health Diagnosis After Years of Headers in Games
After heading the ball as a football player for years, Gary Lineker conveyed his growing worries over his health.
Lineker recently shared his troubles and concerns that he might be diagnosed with dementia due to his countless heading in his sports career. Still, regardless of the health outcome, he reportedly would not change his career nor regret becoming a football player.
According to the 60-year-old ex-England star, the worry began after a number of players - including Terry McDermott and Denis Law - disclosed their struggles. He reportedly believes in the connection of heading in football and an increased occurrence of dementia.
He even tried reducing the use of his head in training to avoid the dreaded issue.
"The percentages of people who are getting forms of dementia in football are higher than those in the general public," he said, as quoted by Mirror UK. "I headed the ball a lot as a kid, because I did finishing training all the time."
Lineker reportedly began to avoid heading a ball too often when he watched central defenders kick the ball up before heading it.
Although he decreased doing the technique, the football star said it might be too late for him already. Probably, the damage has already been done or, if he is lucky, he never got the problem at all.
Gary Lineker Trying To Prevent Dementia
Ever since he stopped playing on the field, Lineker reportedly began having regular medical checkups to look for any signs of dementia. But even if he ends up getting the disease, Lineker would not regret taking the football career.
"I would've played football. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and in hindsight I wouldn't have headed the ball very much in training at all. That would've been the one difference," he told Danny Wallace and Phil Hilton during his Manatomy podcast appearance.
Lineker went on to call the sports his "love and everything." Football reportedly gave him the best life ever, and he would not change it regardless of what the future holds for him.
Since he is 60 now, he expects dementia to occur within the next 10 years.
To aid other footballers, he and 60 other players launched the campaign, Head For Change, to support the families of ex-players who are suffering from dementia.
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