Premier League players 'going cold turkey' as sleeping pills banned

Premier League players are ‘going cold turkey’ as club doctors ban sleeping pills with Everton midfielder Dele Alli not the only star to have had issues

  • Premier League doctors have stopped giving out sleeping pills to players 
  • Mail Sport highlighted the issue of the players’ dependency on the medication 
  • Dele Alli recently went to rehab after becoming addicted to sleeping pills 

Premier League and EFL doctors have become so alarmed by football’s sleeping pill problem that they have stopped dishing out tablets to players.

In the wake of Dele Alli’s heartbreaking admission that he became addicted to sleeping pills, Mail Sport highlighted the growing issue of the players’ dependency on the medication. 

English football’s troubles with sleeping drugs is not a new problem, though Alli’s bombshell interview with Gary Neville which aired on Thursday thrust the concerns firmly into the public domain. 

A handful of Premier League players are ‘going cold turkey’ after the banning of sleeping pills

Everton star Dele Alli has admitted he went to rehab after becoming addicted to sleeping pills

Some club doctors, even prior to Alli’s comments, have taken the decision to stop administering strong sleep aids as they are concerned over the long-term effects on wellbeing

And it is understood that some club doctors, even prior to Alli’s comments, have taken the decision to stop administering strong sleep aids given the growing worries over the long-term effects it has on a player’s overall well-being. 

One Premier League medic told Mail Sport: ‘I know a number of clubs that have stopped giving out strong sleeping tablets altogether. And rightly so, too, given the side-effects.

‘It means some players have had to go cold turkey but it’s the right decision.’ 

In some cases, doctors are trying to encourage players to stop using strong sleep medication — such as Zopiclone — and instead use weaker substitutes such as melatonin before weaning themselves off completely. 

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