Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin left crying on bedroom floor at moment he 'hit rock bottom'
Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin left crying on bedroom floor at moment he 'hit rock bottom'
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the crucial goal that kept Everton in the Premier League in 2022, and he has opened up on the emotional toll that season took on him amid regular injury struggles
Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin has opened up about his mental health struggles while battling injuries over the years
(Image: Getty Images )
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has openly discussed his struggles with injury and the immense pressure he felt at Everton during the club's recent tribulations.
The forward even revealed how he found himself in tears on his bedroom floor on his birthday during the final stages of the 2021/22 season, as he yearned to beat his injury struggles and contribute for his club.
He bounced back from those challenges to net the goal that ensured Everton's Premier League survival. His diving header in May 2022 clinched a remarkable comeback victory over Crystal Palace in the penultimate match of the campaign and secured the Toffees' future in the top flight.
The season had started positively for Calvert-Lewin, with the striker finding the back of the net in the first three league matches and earning a call-up to the England squad. However, this form came with a price as he soldiered on through the discomfort of a broken toe.
Reflecting on that period on the High Performance Podcast, he recalled having to withdraw from international duty as he tried to adjust to his injury. And it was then he developed the first of several quadriceps issues that have since plagued him.
Despite the difficulties, he played a pivotal role in Everton's fight for Premier League survival, notably assisting Alex Iwobi for a crucial stoppage-time goal against Newcastle United and scoring a vital opener against Brentford. However, it was his dramatic diving header against Crystal Palace that truly turned the tide as Everton secured their place in the league.
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"That feeling, I'll never be able to describe it," he said. "It was the weight of my own pressure, the football club. I am quite an emotional person so I put that responsibility on my shoulders. I thought, 'It's my responsibility to save everybody, save people's jobs.'
Calvert-Lewin has finally managed consistent minutes over the past two campaigns after several injury-ravaged seasons
(Image: Getty Images )
"So when I scored that goal it was a relief. The biggest relief ever. On my birthday, which would have been four, five weeks before I scored that goal, that was a low point for me. I can't remember why, I think it was built-up emotion, I ended up crying.
"I was on my own on my birthday, crying on my bedroom floor for whatever reason, feeling a little bit sorry for myself. I think it was not knowing how to express what I was feeling in that moment, that feeling things were getting away from me, feeling you have all the pressure of the football club on your shoulders, and you just want to go out there and play.
"And at that moment I couldn't play because I had picked up another injury and it was overwhelming. But I remember thinking to myself, 'This is a rock bottom moment.' In my mind I was thinking, 'It doesn't get worse than this, you need to pick yourself up and go again.'
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"So that was a catalyst for me because I felt better after I cried. I let out that emotion, all that pressure I had put on myself, and thought, 'I am going to save Everton Football Club.' I ended up scoring the winning goal."
The Sheffield-born star also spoke of opening up about his emotional struggle when that season ended, taking to Instagram to write how talking had saved his life, reports the Liverpool Echo. He told podcast host Jake Humphrey he meant to write that talking had changed his life, and the attention of the media that followed created another layer of pressure for him to deal with.
The 28-year-old emphasised the importance of his message and elaborated: "Hindsight is a beautiful thing. What I actually did was almost put more pressure on me, because I put myself in the spotlight for a non-footballing reason... we all have problems and that is what I was trying to portray."
Attempting to recreate the moment his header found the back of the net against Palace, he continued: "I've never heard a stadium erupt like that in my life. I remember the ball coming in. I remember heading the ball. I remember feeling like I had lost sight of the ball. Looking back up. And it had just gone past the keeper.
It was his goal against Crystal Palace that kept Everton in the top flight three years ago
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"And it was like [tries to replicate the crowd noise], it was like a noise that was almost still. It was that loud it was silent, if that makes sense. Everything just faded out and I remember just wheeling off, running, I don't know what I was doing... it was the most euphoric thing I have ever felt playing football."
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Despite ongoing injury issues hampering Calvert-Lewin's career, he has managed to produce pivotal moments to aid Everton in their fight against relegation in the subsequent two seasons. His penalty at Leicester City proved crucial in the final month of the next season, which concluded with Abdoulaye Doucoure ensuring survival on the last day of that campaign.
Last year, his courageous last-minute penalty secured an essential draw at Newcastle. That acted as the stage for a revival in which he netted a decisive goal against Burnley and the second in a 2-0 Merseyside derby victory that virtually eliminated relegation worries.
He was absent for a significant portion of this season, scoring just three goals in 26 Premier League outings. And the future now looks uncertain for the nine-year Everton veteran as his contract is due to expire at the end of this month.
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