Smalling reveals vegan diet in bid to be a Manchester United mainstay

Chris Smalling has revealed how becoming a vegan has helped him to stay fit and play more games for Manchester United.

Smalling's wife Sam persuaded him to give up all kinds of meat, fish and dairy products, and switch to a plant-based diet of vegetables, nuts and fruit.

He is among a small number of Premier League stars who have turned vegan to improve their health and fitness, including Bournemouth striker Jermain Defoe and Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin.

'My wife has been vegan for a few years and was often trying to persuade me,' explained the 28-year-old United defender. 'She cooks a lot at home, and half the time I was eating vegan anyway.

'After a while, I started to cut out red meat. One of the reasons was because it causes quite a lot of inflammation, and I had tendinitis in my knee, which quite a lot of footballers get.

'Red meat causes a lot of that inflammation and when I was cutting down, the tendinitis started to go. It used to be quite a problem in terms of all warm-ups because getting going was a bit of a nightmare. I ended up cutting that out. My tendinitis has got better and I've started to feel it less.

'Now I've gone fully vegan and normally the start of pre-season can be quite a tough time because you're loading, and that's normally when it's at its worst, but I haven't felt it at all.

'The main reason I started was my health. At first, I was half and half so I was cutting out red meat but still eating some meat so I was getting a bit of both.

'But then the missus throws quite a lot of documentaries at you and it opens you're eyes a little bit in terms of different industries and that persuaded me to go full vegan.

'Since then I've played a lot of games and normally the second day after a game would be the worst. I would feel very tired, but I felt like I was recovering very quickly.

'In terms of the vegan diet there were a lot of factors that I felt helped with that, and I was able to keep banging out games without being too sore.

'Even up to the season before last, I was having a lot of steaks and chicken. I still like the taste. But you don't miss it because there are so many different options now.

'I thought I would miss it a lot more than I do, but was a lot easier to make the transition than I thought.

'At home, a lot of it was quite easy because Sam will cook and eating out at restaurants is quite easy because there are a lot of different menus.

'If I wasn't vegan, I would have to do more cooking if I wanted to eat fish and meat so it was more from a selfish point of view! Luckily she's a very good cook and that has made it easier for me.

'The last step was the club, especially in terms of travelling. Mike (the chef) has been very accommodating and when I told him, we worked out different menus and different options.

'That last step that I was waiting for was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Some of the staff are vegetarian and some of the players try bits and pieces, even though none of them are vegan.'

Smalling hopes to play in United's final pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich on Sunday after withdrawing from last weekend's defeat by Liverpool in Michigan with a minor problem.

The England international made 46 appearances in all competitions last season and believes the vegan diet has helped him to stay fit.

'It's certainly a factor,' he added. 'When I started out, I had quite a lot of injuries. Not because I was eating badly, but as I've got older I've become a lot more conscious of my diet and making sure I was getting all the right things.

'Obviously, the last couple of years it's been more plant-based and I do think that's a factor. Ultimately, what you're feeding yourself has a bearing on how you're going to perform.'