Duke of Cambridge praises 'brave' Doncaster England star Danny Rose over depression battle

The 27-year-old Tottenham ace, who featured in last night's 2-0 win over Costa Rica ahead of next week's World Cup, spoke candidly about how his uncle's suicide, racist abuse of his mum and a shotgun attack on his brother had plunged him into depression.

Rose was sidelined for more than eight months from January last year with a severe knee complaint, during which time he said his uncle killed himself among a series of personal incidents.

The Duke met the squad ahead of the friendly at Leeds United's Elland Road stadium and told the Doncaster-born player “It’s really good what you did, it’s really brave of you,”

William, who is the president of the Football Association, also told England manager Gareth Southgate he was in “early discussions about doing something next year around mental health”.

Paul Farmer, chief executive of mental health charity Mind, believes Rose could inspire others to open up on mental health issues, adding: “One in four people will experience a mental health problem so it should come as no surprise that professional sportspeople will face these issues too.

“Many people from the world of sport have already made a difference by speaking out.

“Mind research found that over a quarter (28 per cent) of people who know someone with a mental health problem said they had started a conversation with a loved one about their mental health as a direct result of reading or hearing about a celebrity’s experiences."