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Former Liverpool goalkeeper Chris Kirkland opened up about his battles with a drug called Tramadol, which is set to be banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The shot-stopper decided to hang his boots in 2016 after an 18-year-long professional career. During that time, he represented Liverpool, West Brom, and Leicester City among other clubs.
The 42-year-old has been fairly open about his battles with illness and depression. Claiming that the aforementioned drug nearly took his life as he suffered sleepless nights, Kirkland told The Athletic (via Mirror):
"I found out when I went into rehab that I was taking the equivalent of six shots of heroin a day. It is an evil, evil drug. It nearly killed me, and should have killed me."
"At the start, it gives you a good feeling. It makes you feel happy if you have anxiety or anything like that. I was using it for pain, yes, but I was using it for anxiety more than anything."
He added:
"But it messes you up mentally. I knew after three months that I was in trouble, that I'd become reliant on it. In the end, you build up such a tolerance to it, it doesn't really do anything. It's just that your body needs it, because you're addicted."
Kirkland managed the situation after receiving help from his wife Leeona and daughter Lucy. Overall, he made 45 appearances for the Reds, managing 13 clean sheets and registered just one cap for England.
Mohamed Salah reaches 200 goal mark in Liverpool's 3-0 win against Brentford
Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah registered 200 goals in English football following his brace in the 3-0 Premier League win over Brentford on Sunday (November 12).
Salah broke the deadlock in the match after netting in the 39th minute and followed it up with a second-half strike to double his side's lead (62'). He also became the first-ever Liverpool player to score in each of his side's first six home league games of a season.
The Egypt international joined Anfield from AS Roma in the summer of 2017 for a fee of €42 million. He has since netted 198 times for the Reds from 322 appearances across all competitions.
The 31-year-old's two other goals came for Chelsea, where he managed just 19 appearances between January 2014 and the summer of 2015.
