Jermain Defoe: Football helps me deal with grief

England footballer Jermain Defoe uses the sport to help deal with grief following the death of his half-brother, he revealed tonight.

Jade Defoe, 26, died from head injuries four days after being attacked in an east London street in April.

Recalling the moment he was told his half-brother was dying he said: "I was at the training ground, the day before Manchester United away.

"Obviously I knew he was in intensive care but then my mum turned up. The manager said to me 'Your mum's in the car park'. As soon as I saw her face, I knew."

The 26-year-old Tottenham star had two hours to say goodbye to his brother.

"I just had to get myself to the hospital and be there for him," he said.

"It was crazy. All the family were there and his close friends. It was so strange. I looked at my brother. He was 26 years old.

"You just don't expect it. The year before I lost my nan. In that situation, or someone dies when they are ill, you prepare yourself.

"This all hit all the family really, really hard."

But he said playing football gives him a chance to escape from what happened.

Defoe said: "When you are playing, it is the only place you get away from everything. You can focus on football when you're on the pitch. Off it, you just think about things.

"The reason why you play, get on with it and do so well is because that's where you get your peace."

He recalled how his younger brother tried the sport, but eventually opted to focus on a music career.

He said: "It was difficult to see a lot of him because he was in the music industry and I was always travelling with the football. But he was my half-brother and we were close."