Former England defender Wayne Bridge has revealed that he had a hair transplant at a top Harley Street Clinic to boost his confidence, after the procedure was recommended to him by a celebrity friend. 

After staving off advancing baldness for ten years, the ex-Chelsea and Manchester City star had 4,085 hairs implanted into the thinning areas of his scalp using the advanced Direct Hair Implantation (DHI) technique. 

The technique involves extracting hair follicles individually from a donor area of the head — usually the lower back of the head which is rarely affected by baldness — before loading them into a pen and then implanting them into the balding areas.  

Bridge, 44, who is married to Saturdays singer Frankie Sanford, posed for pictures during his transplant at DHI Global’s Clinic in central London and said: ‘I had the hair transplant because I wanted to boost my confidence.

‘I have been suffering from hair loss since my mid-30s and I just felt it would give me a bit of a boost to get it sorted. So many men are getting help with their hair and it is really no big deal. 

‘I told Frankie what I was doing and she was really supportive. She said ‘go for it’ and supports anything that makes me feel better about myself.’

Bridge, who won 36 England caps before retiring in 2014, realised he needed help when his hairline started thinning around a decade ago.

He said: ‘I used to like wearing my hair long but my thinning hair became more noticeable when I grew it. I thought of just shaving it all off but a better solution was a hair transplant.

‘You hear about women having procedures to improve their appearance all the time and it is great that it is no big deal for men now, too. It is great that we can all be open about it and hopefully we will inspire more men to seek help. The boost in confidence can be really good for your mental health.’

Bridge lives in Surrey with Loose Women star Frankie, 35, and their two sons Parker, ten, and Carter, nine.

Since retiring in 2014, he has starred on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! and he won the first series of Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins five years ago after trekking through a glacier in Chile.

Bridge famously fell out with his England team mate John Terry over allegations Terry, married to his high school sweetheart Toni, had an affair with Bridge’s former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel in 2009. 

Bridge refused to shake hands with Terry when they played against each other after Bridge moved to Manchester City in 2009. 

Bridge said he chose DHI Global for his hair transplant after it was recommended by a celebrity friend because of its techniques which are said to be ‘minimally invasive’ and have limited downtime in the recovery period. 

DHI procedures start at around £3,000, depending on the number of follicles required, with the cost of an individual follicle typically around £2 to £6. 

Bridge said: ‘I bumped into him at a wedding and his hair looked great. He explained that he had gone to DHI because the treatment is so discreet and no one knows you have had it done until all the hair has grown back.

‘I wanted the very best treatment in the world with the shortest down-time and that was always going to be DHI.

‘You read about patients going abroad for hair transplants but that was never going to be an option for me.

‘The best clinics in the world are here and it is reassuring to know that the team is next to Harley Street for the aftercare. Who wants to jump on a flight to check on their hair if something goes wrong?’

He added: ‘What I particularly like about this treatment is that you don’t have to have your entire head shaved. They literally pick the donor hairs out and then implant them directly where you have the bald spots with very little fuss. There is very little disturbance to the scalp and the final results are completely natural.

‘It means the downtime after the operation is minimal and I can quickly get back to doing what I love, which is staying fit and enjoying time with my family.

A DHI Global spokesperson which has also worked with former England cricketer Phil Tufnell. said: ‘We are increasing the density in Wayne’s hair on his hairline and the top of his scalp. We are filling in the gaps to make him look younger and improve his body confidence.

‘We treat a lot of high profile patients such as Wayne who love to stay fit and look good.’

Under DHI treatments, no holes are made for the implanting of the new hairs – instead they are directly implanted.

Technology controls the depth and angle of the new hairs – giving natural results. All procedures at the clinic are performed by doctors, who are trained and certified by London Hair Restoration Academy, the first Academy for hair transplants.