Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter has opened up about the personal tragedy he suffered in December 2015.

Arter and his partner Rachel Irwin were shattered after baby Renee was stillborn.

The Republic of Ireland international has revealed how his teammates Charlie Daniels and Simon Francis helped him through the toughest period of his life.

He writes in the Players' Tribune: "Luckily, I had Charlie Daniels and Simon Francis, two of my best mates, come and help me out of a really dark place.

"They came over straight away and put everything in the nursery in storage for us, because I think they knew that, eventually, we would want to build that nursery again. They're true friends.

"The next few days were a blur of emotion. I used football to distract myself from the pain, at least for a few hours.

"We had a match against Manchester United three days after we lost Renee. My heart was somewhere else but I wanted to play and Rachel supported it.