'I could eat a whole packet of digestives in one sitting! I don't need to watch what I eat': Ben Foden under the microscope

England rugby star Ben Foden, 29, answers our health quiz

WHAT'S YOUR FITNESS REGIMEN?

I spent the first part of this year injured, so this is a low point for me. In January, I ruptured my left anterior cruciate ligament in my knee after being tackled in a match and I had a two-hour operation at the end of January to take a graft from my hamstring to make a new ligament. I'm doing a lot of leg strength exercises, upper body weights and conditioning while I recover.

ANY VICES?

Tea with lots of sugar and digestive biscuits - I could eat the whole packet in one sitting! I'm lucky that I don't need to watch what I eat. I'm not one of those guys who blows up if he eats a bag of chips. But I'm pretty careful as there's no point undoing my fitness training by fuelling my body with rubbish.

England rugby star Ben Foden, 29, says his biggest phobia is deep water and sharks

England rugby star Ben Foden, 29, says his biggest phobia is deep water and sharks

POP ANY PILLS?

Sometimes vitamin C to boost my immunity, and fish oils are good when you're injured to encourage recovery.

COPE WELL WITH PAIN?

Rugby is a tough, physical game and often you play through an injury, such as a broken foot, until the end of a game, when the pain finally hits home. When I injured my knee in 2013, I played on, even though I felt it pop.

ANY MAJOR ILLNESSES?

No, I was always a hardy child. The most dangerous thing I've ever had was chickenpox when I was three.

FAVOURITE FAMILY REMEDIES?

Despite growing up in a country house near Chester that was freezing and full of dust, I never seemed to come down with colds and the flu, so I think my immune system is pretty good.

He loves tea with lots of sugar and says he's not one of those guys who blows up if he eats a bag of chips

He loves tea with lots of sugar and says he's not one of those guys who blows up if he eats a bag of chips

IS MAN FLU A MYTH?

I don't want to blow the secret for all men... If I had a normal nine to five job, I would never call in sick if I wasn't properly unwell and in bed.

TRIED ALTERNATIVE REMEDIES?

Our physios at the rugby club use acupuncture regularly as muscle relaxants if any of us have gone into spasms or to free up joints. I've had it a few times and I think it's helped my trapped nerves. I don't like the idea of needles. I'm not all that bothered when they're going in; it's when they twist them - that's when it's not all that fun!

I'm pretty careful as there's no point undoing my fitness training by fuelling my body with rubbish

SLEEP WELL?

I get a lot less since our son was born in February - though, thankfully, he's a better sleeper now. When I was a younger, single man, I could just pop off for a nap whenever I felt like it, and I could get ten hours over the course of a day and night. Now, I consider myself lucky if I get seven hours. My wife Una [from the pop band The Saturdays] is a night owl and she doesn't want to go to bed until close to midnight, so I don't sleep until then, either - which isn't ideal when I have to be out of the door by 6.30 am for training.

BIGGEST PHOBIA?

Deep water and sharks, because I'm a terrible swimmer. But I don't mind swimming in a pool.

LIKE TO LIVE FOREVER?

Does everyone else I love get to live for ever, too? I'd like to see how the future pans out and what the world is like. But I wouldn't want to stay young and watch everyone around me grow old and die.

Get behind the England Rugby team - go to o2.co.uk/WearTheRose #WearTheRose

Interview by SARAH EWING 

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