FORMER Premier League striker Dean Windass has opened up about his dementia diagnosis.
The 56-year-old’s diagnosis was announced by ex-Manchester United defender David May in January.
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With his permission, May revealed: “I only spoke to Dean Windass yesterday, ex-professional footballer. I asked Deano how he is.
“He’s been diagnosed with Stage 2 dementia. He’s the same age as me and he’s worried sick of how it’s going to be in the future for him.”
Windass later took to X to write: “Just got to keep smiling and trying to help people.”
And now the ex-striker has opened up about his diagnosis for the first time.
Speaking live on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday morning, he recalled the moment he was diagnosed.
He said: “They rang me up and said they had the results. I said, ‘Why can’t you tell me on the phone?’
“They said they wanted to do it over a zoom, so I panicked then.
“And then Kerry (his fiancee) set up the laptop because I’m not very good at things like that.
“They said, right, this is your diagnosis, it’s very mild, there’s nothing to worry about, it could be five to 10 years that it could develop to bigger stages.
“So it wasn’t the news that I wanted. I was scared, of course I was.”
“I do forget things of course. I’m 56 now, of course I forget names and this, that and the other.
“I don’t know if I’m overthinking subconsciously.”
Windass’ fiancee, Kerry Kehoe, then admitted that she noticed no major changes in the former footballer before he underwent tests and a scan.
She continued: “I never noticed anything prior to the scan and we didn’t really think to much about it.
“And when we got the results we buried our heads in the sand, didn’t we?”
Windass himself then chimed in to say: “We had a bit of a laugh and joke about it.
“I said, well, it was a bad day but it was a good day because they found a brain! They found my brain! I was absolutely delighted!
“We (him and Kerry) never really discussed it between each other.
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“When she does ask me I say I’m fine, I’m alright.
“And the reason I didn’t come out and speak about it a year and a half ago is because my oldest son is a professional footballer, my youngest son was a professional footballer.
“I didn’t want my mum to worry, I didn’t want my kids to worry.”
Windass played in the Premier League for boyhood club Hull as well as Bradford and Middlesbrough.
He initially retired in 2009 before making two comebacks.
The ex-striker hung up his boots officially in 2012 after a spell with Scarborough Athletic.
During the interview, Windass also admitted that he initially didn’t want to know if he had dementia.
He said: “John (Stiles, former Leeds midfielder) asked me about a year and half ago (to get a scan) and I declined.
“I said ‘No, I’m not really interested in finding out’, and he was talking about the football families and how many former footballers have died.
“He said, ‘Look it might help a lot of people’, so I sort of became a guinea pig to go into this scan machine.”
Windass continued: “A lot of footballers won’t do it because they don’t want to know the outcome. I wish I hadn’t gone in now, but it’s happened.
“Because then I wouldn’t have known would I? It would be better not to know.”