The players came together at Selhurst Park as part of the Duke of Cambridge’s Heads Up campaign which encourages fans, players and managers to #kickoffaconversation around mental health, targeting males aged primarily 18-42 to raise awareness of mental wellbeing – and its importance alongside physical wellbeing.
Townsend, who was speaking ahead of Palace’s Premier League fixture away at Everton, discussed his former struggles with a gambling addiction and how it had made him realise the importance of opening up.
He said: “Keeping things inside can eat away at you, but once you start speaking about it and you feel it leave your body, you start to feel more free.