Lineker ‘getting extra checks’ due to fears about dementia risk
CONCERN ABOUT LINKS WITH HEADING THE BALL
GARY Lineker has spoken frankly about his concern over the threat of dementia linked to footballers as they get older.
The 61-year-old former Leicester City and England striker said he is getting extra health checks on his brain to check for signs of dementia.
He played 567 competitive games in his career and said he is concerned not only for himself but also for every professional footballer, the Daily Express reported.
A study has found evidence which suggests a link between heading a football and the risk of dementia, with the research showing professional footballers are three-and-a-half times more likely to die from a brain disorder than the general population.
The findings have prompted the government to launch an inquiry into the link between the sport and dementia. Similar discussions are being had in rugby.
Lineker said: “I’ve had conversations with Alan Shearer and Ian Wright and others about the worry that, come 10, 15 years, it might happen to one of us.
“The odds suggest it probably will. I have regular health checks, including the brain. So far everything is okay.
“I’ll have my test this summer and ask if there’s anything they can establish around the brain, because I don’t see how, given the circumstances, any footballer wouldn’t be worried about it.
“It’s a worry. I don’t mind admitting that it concerns me. There’s no question there’s a link.”
The link between heading the ball and dementia has not been proven but Lineker is certain the statistics are no coincidence.
He said he had made a “conscious decision” to rarely head the ball in training when he was playing.
“I made a specific decision formed by me watching central defenders every day getting the ball kicked up and just heading ball after ball. I used to think ‘That can’t be good for your head,’” he said.
“I don’t know whether that’s too late for me – the damage might have been done. Maybe I’ve got no damage. “Football is my love, it’s my everything. It’s given me the best life ever and would I change it, even if something like that happened? No. “I’m 60 now. If it comes on in 10 years’ time, it comes on in 10 years’ time, but I’d have had 70 unbelievable years. I don’t know what the next 10 years have in store for me.” To help those still playing football, he said: “You can take heading out of training, or limit it massively. “Exercises where defenders are heading it clear, crosses are sent in and players are heading the ball away and at goal repeatedly – bang, bang, bang – most damage will probably be done then.” Lineker was one of 60 footballers who launched a campaign in August to help sportspeople affected by dementia.
The charity Head For Change was founded by family members of explayers suffering from the neurodegenerative disease.
For details of its work, see:
I don’t see how, given the circumstances, any footballer wouldn’t be worried about it
Gary Lineker