Englands Tyrone Mings had therapy as part of mental health battle at Euro 2020

England defender Tyrone Mings has revealed he needed therapy to deal with mental health problems during Euro 2020.

The towering Aston Villa centre-half featured in all of England's group games and played a key role in the country's run to the final.

But Mings admits it wasn't easy being dubbed the team's "weak link" early on in the tournament.

He told The Sun: "I did have a tough time in the lead-up to the opening game against Croatia.

"I think I’m a lot more hardened to outside influences now, but my mental health did plummet.

"I was probably the only name on the teamsheet that people thought, ‘Not sure about him’. And that was something I had to overcome.

"When 90-95 per cent of your country are having doubts over you, it’s very difficult to stop this intruding on your own thoughts."

Mings told the The Sun how he did a lot of work with a psychologist to try and overcome his mental health issues, focusing on different coping mechanisms such as breathing and meditation.

The 28-year-old filled in for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire in England's opening group two games, helping Gareth Southgate's side keep successive clean sheets.

But Mings added how the background noise made it difficult for him to sleep before the first match against Croatia at Wembley.

That noise came from sections of the media too.

BBC pundit Rio Ferdinand told viewers before the Croatia match: " I think it’s the weakest part of our team, and an area where most people are concerned.

"He has not played Champions League football, he has not played at this level."

According to The Sun, the former Red Devils centre-half later contacted Mings privately to shower praise on the defender, and not just for his performances on the pitch.

Ferdinand was reportedly also impressed with Mings' stance on taking the knee, and taking the fight for equality to Home Secretary Priti Patel on Twitter.

Mings criticised the MP after she called players taking the knee "gesture politics."

He tweeted: "You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens."

The defender's latest comments come at an important time for mental health in sport after Simone Biles' shock withdrawal from the Olympic Games and Ben Stokes' decision to take an indefinite break from cricket.

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