Czech international Martin Fenin is the latest footballer here to suffer with depression, almost two years after the suicide of Germany star Robert Enke.
The 24-year-old Fenin, a striker who plays for Energie Cottbus in Germany's second division, is being treated in hospital for depression after a bizarre incident in which he fell from his hotel room last weekend.
Depression is a hot topic in Germany after the tragic death of Enke, who was the first-choice goalkeeper for the national side at the time of his suicide in November 2009, after it emerged he had suffered with depression for years.
"For several months, I have been suffering with the sense of resignation, loneliness and depression. My refuge in drugs has worsened the situation," admitted Fenin in a statement.
According to reports, the police were called to a Cottbus hotel in the early hours of Saturday morning where they found Fenin on a courtyard roof having fallen two floors from his hotel room.
Blood tests show high levels of alcohol and sleeping tablets in his system and he was later admitted to hospital in Cottbus suffering from a brain hemorrhage.
"There was a rescue mission by the police, that's all we can say," a police spokesman told SID, an AFP subsidiary, without specifying whether Fenin's fall was accidental.
His club have said they will give him all the time he needs to recover.
"He has said he does not remember much about that night," Cottbus coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz told German daily Bild.
Having made 16 appearances for the Czech Republic, Fenin hit the headlines in 2008 while playing for Eintracht Frankfurt when the car he was driving ended up in a ditch and alcohol was reported to have been involved.
He joined Cottbus in August when Frankfurt were relegated from the Bundesliga and he has also lost his place in the national Czech team.
Fenin's plight comes after Hanover goalkeeper Markus Miller was admitted to hospital with mental exhaustion at the start of the season and coach Ralf Rangnick resigned last month as boss of Schalke with burn-out.
Germany's Professional Footballers' Union has said incidents of mental illness amongst members are on the increase and more needs to be done to protect those who suffer.
"There are too many clubs where psychology is not a priority," said union spokesman Ulf Baranowsky.
"Many players are afraid of the consequences."
Source: AFP
