Sir Bobby Charlton was recently diagnosed with dementia

Aston Villa head coach insists “no stone should be left unturned” when it comes to research into dementia in footballers.

Iran Press/Europe: Dean Smith has personal experience of the disease as his father, who died in March, had been diagnosed with it in 2014.

It is a topic that keeps returning to the headlines, most recently after former England and Manchester United player, Sir Bobby Charlton was diagnosed with dementia earlier this month.

“It’s one of the toughest things to go through, seeing parents suffering from dementia,” he said.

“I’ve spoken openly before about the struggles my dad had and eventually having to go into a care home."

“We need to make sure there is no stone left unturned to go and find out whether there is certainly a correlation between heading a football and dementia."

“Until we get that it’s very difficult to change the game. My dad suffered from dementia for seven years but he was never a footballer so we know it’s prevalent in the world and society."

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