Swansea City captain Matt Grimes has admitted his unsuccessful loan spell at Leeds United affected his mental health.

Grimes joined then Championship side Leeds on a season-long loan in July 2016, linking up with his former Swansea boss Garry Monk, who was in charge at Elland Road at the time.

Things though, did not work out for the midfielder in Yorkshire, and as a result, the Swansea City captain says his mental health took a hit.

"I needed to play more minutes than I was at the time to keep progressing. It plateaued a bit and then went on loan to Blackburn and got myself going again. I thought I was back on track and then went to Leeds." Grimes recalled in a recent Swansea matchday programme, via The Yorkshire Post.

"The mental state I was in that season, I don't wish on any footballer.

"I was training, not playing, going home and sleeping on the sofa because I was living on my own as I wasn't with my girlfriend at the time.

"I was just in a lull of training and not playing, running on the weekends and it impacted my mental health so much.

"I was stepping on the pitch, not feeling confident at all and I was thinking should I even be here?"

Grimes went on to make just seven league appearances for Leeds United in that 2016/17 campaign.

In the same piece as the above, the midfielder did admit that when he did get opportunities to play, he was not good enough.

The Verdict

It's always great to hear footballers being open and honest about their mental health in a sport that still has plenty to overcome in this area.

Grimes clearly had a tough time of things at Elland Road, and given it clearly wasn't a lack of talent behind his reasons for failing, you wonder what went wrong for the then 21-year-old?

Perhaps the move came too soon for Grimes, given that just a year prior he was still playing his football at Exeter City.

The confidence in his ability would clearly come later for the 26-year-old, who has gone on to establish himself as one of the most consistent midfielders in the Championship.