Luckless Portsmouth debutant and ex-Charlton and Bristol Rovers man on his fears more players could take their lives after career heartbreak

Tareiq Holmes-Dennis was signed on loan from Huddersfield to be Republic of Ireland international Enda Stevens’ replacement ahead of the Blues’ 2017-18 season.

However, the promising left-back lasted just 39 minutes into his debut against Rochdale in August 2017 after slipping on artificial turf adjacent in front of the South Stand.

Subsequently diagnosed with a chondral defect and meniscus tear to his left knee, little more than three years later, following three operations and just 30 more appearances, his football career was over.

Holmes-Dennis was forced to retire in 2020 at the age of 24, requiring counselling.

Former Manchester City youngster Jeremy Wisten took his own life in 2020 after being released following a battle with a knee injury – and the ex-Bristol Rovers man worries about the mental health of others.

‘When you see young boys that have taken their life because they can’t cope – coping with the stresses of being released – it should never get there,’ he said.

‘You don’t want it to become a norm. There are so many people going through situations where they are mentally struggling.

‘It is starting to be highlighted a bit more. Some clubs in particular are putting time and effort into giving the resources to players and, ultimately, it’s players who make the club perform.

‘Their welfare should be at the forefront but it’s relatively new, mental health and player welfare and making sure players are in a good physical and mental space.

‘There is a magnifying glass on that now which is good because it is easy to look from the outside and say “you’re paid to do X, Y, Z”. There’s a lot more that goes into that and there’s a lot of repercussions for players off the pitch if their mental health isn’t in the right place.

‘It’s clear an effort is being made to understand what players go through and what can be done to best aid them.’

Now aged 27, Holmes-Dennis works at sports marketing agency Wasserman.

And the former England under-18 international acknowledges that moment at Fratton Park changed his career.

He added: ‘I saw a counsellor to get over it (retirement). I learned speaking about it was the biggest thing. I didn’t want to hold it in.

‘I also didn’t want to be annoying people but I know my family loved me and understood what I was going through was difficult because they’d seen my journey.

‘It was just a dark, dark time. Losing that routine, losing that drive to wake up and do something. You’re used to preparing in a certain way, being an elite athlete and living the elite lifestyle to then feeling irrelevant.’