Mark Hughes, QPR manager

It is believed that QPR midfielder Samba Diakite has returned home to France in a bid to fight against depression, The Daily Mail state.

The Mali international spent the second half of last season on loan at Loftus Road and sealed a permanent deal to Mark Hughes' men in the summer worth £3.5 million.

However, the African battler was not in the match-day squad for the R's last fixture against Manchester City, with no explanation for the player's omission given by the London club.

However, it is thought that Hughes is aware of the problem and sent Diakite back to France to sort things out, with a ten-day leave of absence allowed by the Welsh trainer.

Despite this, Diakite has been absent from the club for 13 days now and there is no indication whether he will return for QPR's next Premier League game against Chelsea a week on Saturday or what timescales are involved.

Diakite's case if verified would add to a long list of football suffering from depression.

By Gareth McKnight

[ad_pod id='dfp-mpu' align='right']