FILE PHOTO: Football - Accrington Stanley v Hull City - Capital One Cup First Round - Store First Stadium - 11/8/15 Former Hull City player and Club ambassador Dean Windass commentates Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Craig Brough Livepic/File Photo
(Reuters) - Former Hull City and Middlesbrough forward Dean Windass has been diagnosed with stage two dementia, the 55-year-old said on Friday.
Windass made over 700 appearances for 12 different clubs between 1990 and 2009, scoring more than 230 goals.
He is best known for his time at Hull, where he netted a spectacular winning volley in the 2008 Championship playoff final that helped them earn promotion to the Premier League.
Windass said he was informed of the diagnosis 12 months ago.
"I was asked if, as an ex-player, I would be prepared to go for a scan," Windass told the Daily Mail.
"I panicked a bit because they said that it would be a couple of weeks before the results came back but I then got a text asking me to have a Zoom call.
"The conversation I had was that there was nothing to worry about at this stage but the scan has come back as mild grade two dementia ... I can't really remember the exact words that I was told.
"I don't know how it will affect my life in the years to come. I do forget names. I'm 55 now so maybe that's just old age."
Brain injuries have become a major issue in sport, with a group of former soccer and rugby players suffering from neurological impairments joining a class-action lawsuit against their respective governing bodies.
England's FA has been looking to mitigate against potential health risks and dementia, and in 2024 introduced a rule to phase out deliberate heading in youth-level matches.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
