Leicester City midfielder Matty James admits he considered retirement before a chat with manager Brendan Rodgers.

James is currently on-loan with Barnsley.

“It's been hard," he told BBC Radio Sheffield. “Watching football was becoming not very enjoyable.

“Leicester City have been amazing, I can't speak highly enough of every single member of staff, the physios, the players.

“It's been hard because it's been one thing after another. I was having an operation virtually every three or four months. I had to have both Achilles operated on, and at the same time I was trying to be a husband and a father, and it was just trying to remember that football didn't mean everything. That was difficult mentally.

“I had to focus on each day. I was projecting too far, I was making unrealistic goals and that's one thing that Brendan helped with, just to try to be present and take it day by day.

“In August time (in 2019), that was probably the most difficult point where I wasn't enjoying what I was doing. I was questioning everything.

"There was a moment where I did think: 'Should I give in?' 'Should I continue?'

“It was because of my kids really because I couldn't do anything with them. I was spending more time on crutches and I wasn't myself. And I thought, longer term, is it going to be better for me?

“But I had good conversations with certain people, Brendan, the physio Dave Rennie, who's been amazing, the psychologist. We just went through different scenarios and something clicked. I woke up one morning and my pain wasn't as bad.

“Maybe I relaxed and a new manager gave me a bit of belief that I could prove to him that I could get back to a level. It was a weird situation but one that has made me stronger."