I lost SEVEN family members as my partner was pregnant and wanted to quit footy… now I’m dreaming of Carabao Cup joy

MIDDLESBROUGH star Isaiah Jones is now dreaming of Carabao Cup glory – after the loss of SEVEN family members inside a year left him wanting to quit football.

The 24-year-old winger has gone from non-league unknown at Tooting & Mitcham to one of the Championship’s brightest stars since bursting on the scene in 2021 at The Riverside.

GettyMiddlesbrough’s Isaiah Jones is hoping to down Chelsea tonight[/caption]

The speedster has since been linked with Manchester United in the past and Crystal Palace more recently.

And tonight he is hoping to help Michael Carrick’s side take a huge step towards Wembley when his Boro team face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

However, just over a year ago playing at the national stadium in a cup final was the last thing on the star’s mind.

In fact, playing football altogether was as he considered quitting the beautiful game as he battled mental health issues.

Jones became a father as he and his partner welcomed their first child into the world last year – but the Boro attacker revealed how he tragically lost seven family members over the course of 12 months before that which sent him into deep depression.

Speaking last summer to the Beautiful Game podcast, he said: “My missus was pregnant, I had seven family members die in one season alone and I was going through a lot of mental health issues and taking tablets.

“It got to a point where I was playing and I remember a day leading up to before a game my mum called me and said someone has passed away, on the coach. I broke down, but I didn’t break down to show my team-mates that I was sad so I could try and play.

“But when you’re on the pitch, games were just going by me. I’m losing my great uncles that have supported me from day one, even my grandad’s dad has passed. It messed me up mentally, thinking why’s it happening? The times I wasn’t in the squad was for stuff like that.”

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans for free on 116123.

Jones continued: “It got to a point where I needed to tell the gaffer because I didn’t want to play football. It got to that stage where I didn’t want to play football anymore. I just wanted to stop.

“I broke down in the conversation. I said to him ‘what you want me to do for you I can’t give you this season. I’m going through some deep issues mentally. I’m not here.’ I was in a dark place.

“I’ll always respect what he [Carrick] did for me in those four or five months when I wasn’t playing.

“People think because we’re footballers we don’t go through mad things. That’s not the case. You don’t know our personal life. For me to tell you I’ve had seven people pass away in a season, that’s crazy. That’s a lot.”

Fortunately Jones was able to return for the second half of last season and he appears to be back to his best this term as he looks to down Chelsea this evening.

Despite making the headlines for an outrageous miss against Huddersfield recently, he has still managed five goals this season and will be looking to add to that tally against the Blues.

“I’m better now, but it was a tough time last year, you know,” added Jones.

“I thought it was the right time to speak out when the season was done.

“When you’re in that dark place, you might not want to talk about it and you feel embarrassed or whatever, but as a grown man and a footballer I wanted to make people, the community, in the game and on Teesside, comfortable to speak up about the problems they’re having in their life.

“It’s not easy to speak out, when you’re talking to a psychologist every day, but the more you talk, the more it helps you and takes the weight off your shoulders.

“To talk about the problems you’re going through, a lot of others will be going through that, and you can help them and they might be able to help you.”

TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: All the latest transfer deals from around the world this January