Soccer-free summers leaving some football fans depressed and withdrawn it has been revealed.

Researchers found that up to two-thirds of football fans in the UK - 9.2 million people - experience depressed symptoms.

Among the symptoms of this "disorder" include lethargy, inability to converse and a feeling of hopelessness - characteristics which some unfortunate fans may experience during the season as well.

Other symptoms of so-called End of Season Affective Disorder include inability to focus, lack of direction and irritability.

Research found that 75% of fans believed football more important than anything else, while 70% said it was the dominant conversational topic.

Figures showed 83% of supporters believed football boosted their moods, while 86% planned their day around the big match when the season was on.

Thanks to last year's World Cup, soccer fans enjoyed 22 months of virtually uninterrupted action.

Commissioned for Barclaycard, the research was compiled via an internet questionnaire, which had 2,000 respondents, as well as three focus groups and face-to-face interviews with 29 football fans from varied backgrounds.

The Scottish Medical Journal found that Edinburgh Royal Infirmary treated an incredible 151 patients for football-related problems during the 1998 World Cup in France.

These included a stress-induced asthma attack, self-inflicted deafness from shouting at the television and eight people with chest pains.

Two more fans needed help for hyperventilation, three for alcohol-related seizures and one for palpitations.

It may not only be fans that suffer. Researchers in America have found that players who suffer multiple concussions run a much greater risk of clinical depression later in life.