Dele Alli offers update on career as Everton star appears on Monday Night Football

Dele Alli says he’s “excited” about returning to football after battling injury and addiction over a difficult few years.

The former England international, 28, has entered the final two months of his contract with Everton after making just 13 appearances since joining the Premier League side in January 2022. But now Dele can see the “light at the end of the tunnel,” having had to undergo surgery on his groin for the second time earlier this year.

On Monday, the ex-Tottenham midfielder made his first public appearance since an emotional interview with Gary Neville last July, in which he revealed that he’d become addicted to sleeping tablets and subsequently checked into rehab in the United States.

Appearing on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Dele confirmed: “I’m doing well. I think when I did the interview I said it’s the best I’ve felt, at that time. Obviously coming out of rehab and getting ready to be back playing. It’s been tough but it’s a journey that I’m on but I’m enjoying it and I’m ready to get back now.”

The 28-year-old added: “I’ve had to be patient and really learn what patience is. It’s been a long journey with the [groin] injury. A lot of ups and downs and it’s helped me grow as a person. I’m not thankful to be injured but to have this opportunity to get to know myself. I think the pain of the injury is something I can channel when I am back and use it to motivate me.

“After the interview a lot of people asked me, ‘When are you coming back to football?’ and they thought I was taking a break. It’s just been an injury problem, one that I’m hopefully getting to the end of. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I’m excited.”

Dele’s interview with Neville led to an outpouring of support from the football community, having also revealed that he was sexually abused by his mother’s friend when he was only six years old. “When I did the interview I said, ‘If I help one person that’s all I needed’,” the MK Dons academy graduate, who’s represented England 37 times, explained.

Your turn! Which club should sign Dele Alli this summer? Give us your pick in the comments section.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 12: Dele Alli of Everton in action during the Premier League match between Everton and Leeds United at Goodison Park on February 12, 2022 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

“I had to do it for my own reasons but to help one person was I wanted from it and the reaction and support I got from it was definitely overwhelming. It was amazing to see how many people it did help and I’m very proud of it.”

Everton manager Sean Dyche told Sky in February when asked if Dele would play for the Toffees again: “We’ll see. He has a long way to go. We’ve deliberately kept him back from it and we agreed that with him – just to give him time, to give him space.

“Hopefully he will be back, we don’t know. We have given him the privacy he needs during this time. He’s in a good state, I spoke to him recently. Making sense of another injury is difficult but he will come through that.”

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