Everton’s 30 year old winger Aaron Lennon was detained by Greater Manchester police on Tuesday afternoon, after police had been alerted following concerns for the welfare of a man on Eccles Old Road at 4.35pm.
Lennon was taken to hospital, and Everton have now confirmed the player is “receiving care and treatment for a stress-related illness”.
Greater Manchester Police provided a statement in which they stated:
“Police were called at around 4.35pm to reports of a concern for the welfare of a man on Eccles Old Road.
“Officers attended and a 30-year-old man was detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act and was taken to hospital for assessment.”
Greater Manchester Police, Tuesday 2nd May, 2017
Lennon’s representatives; Base Soccer Agency, responded on social media and stated that: “Everyone at Base Soccer sends their support to @AaronLennon12 – get well soon and stay strong.”
Following the surfacing of reports regarding Lennon’s welfare on Tuesday, the general public reaction has been one of empathy and understanding – it is all to easy to forget that professional footballers are real people with emotive struggles too.
Previous professional footballers have had their say, with Stan Collymore; a strong advocate of mental health awareness, and Trevor Sinclair commenting that:
Collymore – “Thoughts and love with Aaron Lennon and his family right now. I know that place, and I know he’ll be fine with good support from us all”.
Sinclair – “Thoughts with Aaron Lennon right now”.
The thoughts of all at 90MAAT are with Aaron Lennon and his family at this point in time, get well soon Aaron ⚽
