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Dean Windass reveals additional diagnosis after dementia revelation

  /  autty

Former Premier League star Dean Windass has revealed he has been diagnosed with ADHD, after previously sharing that he has stage two dementia in January of this year.

The ex-Hull City forward helped book the Tigers their first-ever Premier League berth with his goal in the 2008 play-off final and scored a total of 141 goals during his nearly 20-year career.

But Windass was compelled to share the news that he had been diagnosed with the cognitive syndrome 12 months before his public statement, after former Manchester United defender David May cited his case amid the growing issue of dementia in football.

Windass later spoke out on his diagnosis via social media, stressing that he is 'ok' but keen to ensure 'other families get the help that they want for the people they have lost'.

Stage two dementia is categorised by mild cognitive decline, including issues with memory and language, but largely can be mistaken for normal ageing, as the individual will still be able to perform daily activities as normal.

But Windass shared on Tuesday that as well as his dementia diagnosis, he has also recently learned he has another neurological condition.

Windass initially learned that he had ADHD in the build-up to the launch of his second autobiography, and as he told the BBC, he could barely believe he had another condition.

'I thought, "God, what's going on?",' Windass said. 'I've got dementia, now I've got ADHD - and what else have I got.

But Windass went on to reveal that after struggling at school, his diagnosis of ADHD - which impacts concentration and can cause hyperactivity and impulsivity - quickly made sense to him.

'Even at school I couldn't process things,' he continued.

'I can read and write, but if I read a book and you asked me what that book was about, I wouldn't know.'

Windass has previously shared that he wished he did not know about his dementia diagnosis, opening up in March that he regretted undergoing the scan.

'John (Stiles) asked me about a year and half ago (to get a scan) and I declined,' he told Good Morning Britain hosts Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh in March.

'I said "No, I'm not interested really to find out", and he was expressing about the football families and how a lot of ex footballers have passed away (from dementia).

'He said, "Look it might help a lot of people", so I was sort of a guinea pig to go into this scan machine. There's a lot of footballers that won't do it because they don't want to know the outcome. I wish I wouldn't have gone in now, but it's happened.'

When pressed by Balls on what he meant by saying he wished he hadn't done the scan, Windass, who was joined by his fiancee Kerry Kehoe, added: 'Yeah, because then I wouldn't have known would I? It would be better not to know.

'They said this is the diagnosis, it's very mild. You have nothing to worry about at this stage. It could be five to ten years that it could develop to bigger stages, so it wasn't the news that I wanted. I was scared Ed, I was scared, of course I was.

'I do forget a lot of things of course, but Kerry runs everything for me. I'm 56 now, so of course I forget names and forget things, but I don't know if I'm over thinking subconsciously. Kerry will ask me everyday "Do you know what you're doing this week?"'

Kerry admitted they don't speak about the diagnosis together and that they initially 'buried our heads in the sand'.