Premier League and EFL doctors have become so alarmed by football’s sleeping pill problem that they have stopped dishing out tablets to players.
In the wake of Dele Alli’s heartbreaking admission that he became addicted to sleeping pills, Mail Sport highlighted the growing issue of the players’ dependency on the medication.
English football’s troubles with sleeping drugs is not a new problem, though Alli’s bombshell interview with Gary Neville which aired on Thursday thrust the concerns firmly into the public domain.
And it is understood that some club doctors, even prior to Alli’s comments, have taken the decision to stop administering strong sleep aids given the growing worries over the long-term effects it has on a player’s overall well-being.
One Premier League medic told Mail Sport: ‘I know a number of clubs that have stopped giving out strong sleeping tablets altogether. And rightly so, too, given the side-effects.
‘It means some players have had to go cold turkey but it’s the right decision.’
In some cases, doctors are trying to encourage players to stop using strong sleep medication — such as Zopiclone — and instead use weaker substitutes such as melatonin before weaning themselves off completely.