Ex-Premier League star Dean Windass speaks out on dementia diagnosis aged 55

Dean Windass, the former Hull and Middlesbrough striker, has been diagnosed with dementia (Image: Getty)

Former Premier League footballer Dean Windass has spoken out after revealing he has been diagnosed with dementia at the age of 55.

The ex-striker made 104 appearances in the top flight for clubs such as Hull City, Middlesbrough and Bradford City.

He famously scored the winning goal for Hull at Wembley in the 123rd minute, which secured the Tigers' historic first-ever promotion to the Premier League in May 2008.

Windass, speaking to The Mirror, admitted he had kept the news of his stage two dementia diagnosis quiet for a year. However, he has insisted that he is "all right, I'm not dying."

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He said: “My phone has gone mad because everyone thinks I'm dying. I’m not dying. I’m all right. My son text to ask if I was OK."

Despite playing down the seriousness of his condition, father-of-two Windass - whose son Josh, 31, plays for Sheffield Wednesday - admitted he is scared of the thought of becoming reliant on his fiancee Kerry.

"Of course I'm worried, I'm not being naive, I don't want Kerry looking after me," he added. “I’m honestly fine. I’m not dying.

"I could walk out my front door and get run over. People don’t need to worry about me, it’s fine. I don’t know what’s going to happen in five years or tomorrow. I just get on with it."

Dean Windass scored the dramatic winner for Hull City in the 2008 play-off final (Image: Getty) SUBSCRIBE Invalid email

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Talking about his diagnosis, Windass revealed that he sometimes forgets names or things that Kerry tells him.

That led to him undergoing scans after speaking to John Stiles, the son of England's late World Cup hero Nobby Stiles.

“Obviously because I’ve headed footballs there’s some sort of bleeding on my brain. It’s shown something. I went into the big machine," he said.

“We went for these scans last year and that was the diagnosis they gave me, stage two dementia. I asked if there was any problem and they said ‘no, but they don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow’."

FYI i spoke to @DWindass10 last night and asked his permission, he was 100% behind me mentioning that he had been diagnosed with stage 2 dementia, Deano has just done an article for a national newspaper which will be published soon.. share the lovehttps://t.co/jr5crvoJGm

— David May (@DavidMay04) January 10, 2025

Windass spoke after former Manchester United defender David May had made the news public during a live TV interview with BBC Breakfast, in which he stated: "I only spoke to Dean Windass yesterday, ex-professional footballer.

"I asked Deano how he is. He's been diagnosed with Stage 2 dementia. He's the same age as me and he's worried sick of how it's going to be in the future for him."

Taking to social media platform X, May later clarified that he had been given permission from Windass to share the news, stating: "FYI I spoke to @DWindass10 last night and asked his permission.

"He was 100 per cent behind me mentioning that he had been diagnosed with stage 2 dementia. Deano has just done an article for a national newspaper which will be published soon.. Share the love."