'I can see the light at the end' - Dele Alli opens up on painful injury nightmare at Everton as he eyes long-awaited comeback

Having not played at all in 2023-24, Dele appeared on Sky Sports Monday Night Football and spoke about his road to both physical and mental recovery after a tough few years.

This appearance was Dele's first interview since opening up last summer on The Overlap with Gary Neville about entering rehab after an ill-fated loan at Besiktas in 2023 because of a sleeping pill addiction and mental health issues. The 28-year-old was overcoming those problems at the time of that interview, but his return to the pitch has been delayed by a long-term groin injury.

Dele said: "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 made his senior England debut aged 19 in October 2015, just five months after he had been playing in League One with MK Dons. But the downturn in his club career means he hasn't added to his 37 caps since June 2019 - almost five years ago.

With his Everton contract up at the end of the season, Dele is on course to become a free agent this summer. Expecting to soon be fully fit, that could nicely lend itself to starting afresh somewhere new to kickstart his career while he is still young enough to enjoy a few more years as a professional at a decent level. One former Everton scout recently suggested stepping down into the EFL.