Jones, Man Utd title winner, opens up about the toll of fan abuse

Jones endured a slew of injuries throughout his career and ultimately had to retire prematurely as a result of a debilitating knee injury.

Jones first tore his meniscus as an 18-year-old at Blackburn and never fully recovered.The 32-year-old told The Sun: “I'd been through that much trauma mentally. Anybody who tells you that it doesn't is lying. And as footballers you have to put this mask on. 

“You get paid a lot of money so you are not allowed to have feelings or emotions. The physical injuries made me mentally weak at times.

“But my coping mechanism was to be silent, put my guard up, my shield up around with my really close family. I wouldn't even really communicate with my friends that well.'

“You'd go past people in the street and they'd say something and it would really aggravate you and get to you.

“You just hear people whispering, 'Oh there he is, f**king injury-prone'. People say, 'you shouldn't take that money then. 'If they only knew what I was doing behind the scenes to get right.

“I found it really hard to go to restaurants for years. You put your head down when you're walking through crowds and stuff. I didn't want people to spot me.”