Sunderland star Aaron Connolly has bravely revealed how he is attempting to combat an alcohol addiction that has previously plagued the early years of his professional career.
The 24-year-old first burst onto the Premier League scene by scoring two goals on his debut start for Brighton in a comprehensive 3-1 win over Tottenham five-years ago before addiction started to take hold.
Now, having signed for Sunderland as a free agent after leaving Hull in the summer, Connolly has decided to make his personal battles with drink public after previously spending time in rehab.
With ambitions to become a Republic of Ireland international star again, Connolly didn't want to hid his addiction when he signed for Sunderland by revealing his mission to remain sober in an interview upon joining the club.
Now, the former Premier League prodigy has further delved into his problems with alcohol and outlined how he is now regularly attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to help him recover.
Sunderland star Aaron Connolly has bravely revealed how he is attempting to combat an alcohol addiction
Speaking out about his battle, Connolly told The Athletic: 'I would have to drink to feel comfortable in myself before.
'Now I'm so comfortable in myself when I'm sober. I love it. And I wish I'd done it five years ago, but there's just come certain points where you just have to be honest with yourself. I was and I'm the happiest I've been in a long time.'
'I decided that enough was enough and I wanted to stop.
'My personal life has been a mess. When you're so deep into an addiction to alcohol, you can't really see it,' he added.
Connolly also admitted how he hasn't had a drink since August 7 after deciding to take control of his life having been left without a club during the summer.
He also revealed how drinking began to take a further control of his life after initially breaking through at Brighton before going on to have unsuccessful loan spells at Luton, Middlesbrough and later Venezia.
The Oranmore-born forward is now determined to help take Sunderland back to the Premier League where his talents were first showcased to the world as a youngster at Brighton.
He made his first Championship appearance for the club in Sunday's 1-0 win over Hull with Connolly coming off the bench to play 15 minutes of the clash.