Republic of Ireland Under-21 midfielder Will Smallbone has spoken openly about a dreadful injury last year coincided with his alopecia.
Southampton 21-year-old Smallbone, a serious talent who has been earmarked a future senior international, had his season ended last January when he suffered an ACL injury against Leicester City.
He actually continued to play on after sustaining the injury before being withdrawn but the damage was serious. Smallbone required surgery and a lengthy period of rehabilitation.
To make matters worse, his hair had begun to fall out at an alarming rate.
"After the surgery, for six weeks I couldn't do anything for myself," he told the Southampton FC official app.
"Luckily my mum came down and lived with me. I had her and my girlfriend to help me. They were both great in those tough times.
"Alopecia is something I’ve had to deal with alongside my injury. I first had a really small patch of hair missing. No one would ever really notice.
"It was the Leicester game, where in a few photos you could see a bigger patch appearing. Now it’s actually growing back… but to lose it all is very tough.
"Alongside such a big injury, it probably couldn't have happened at a worse time for me personally, to have both of these things going on."
Smallbone has returned to action this season and is a regular for Jim Crawford's Ireland Under-21s.
He is philosophical about his alopecia, adding: "The doctors can't say if they are linked. Because of the injury and the stress of being out for so long, they can’t say if that caused it, but the timings line up. It would make sense for them to coincide.
"Mine was a gradual, a steady increase of how bad it was. It started off as a really small patch of hair I was missing, which slowly grew and then eventually just started falling out from all sides. The doctor’s advice was just to shave it because eventually it was going to get to that anyway.
"But at the end of the day, it’s just hair. I suppose I’m in a situation where I’m playing on TV, and there’s kids watching who may have to deal with the same thing - it’s to show that it isn’t the end of the world.
"Sometimes, in life, you have to get on with difficult things that are thrown at you."
