Harry Arter bravely dicusses the loss of his daughter

Harry Arter has opened up about the loss of his daughter Renée, one year on from her birth.

The 26 year old showed incredible bravery and character last season to produce a man of the match performance in Bournemouth’s stunning 2-1 win over Manchester United, just days after the devastating loss.

When the Irish international takes the field against Burnley on Saturday, it will be exactly one year to the day since Renée was born, and the Bournemouth midfielder has the date (10-12-2015) tattooed on his wrist.

“Every day I think of her,” he told The Guardian.

“And it’s strange because there are days when I feel like a normal person, or how someone who hasn’t lost a baby would feel. But then it will just hit you, driving along and suddenly you see something that triggers your mind. It’s such a weird feeling and one that I don’t mind any more. Even when I’m sad I enjoy that feeling.”

The couple revealed in October that they are expecting another child, which is due in February.

“We’re having another little girl, which is very exciting and something that both Rachel and I are happy about,” Arter continued.

“Of course we would have been happy with a boy but it’s nice for Renée to have a little sister.

“I just hope everyone doesn’t think that because we’re having a new baby that we’ll forget about Renée, because that’s totally not the case. Rachel is still so sad about the situation, so I need to make sure that she stays strong now – which she is doing.”

The midfielder has also revealed that he bottled up his emotions at the time, and how grateful he is to be at Bournemouth.

“I wanted something to change in my life because I was that unhappy; I needed something just to change my mindset and thankfully it wasn’t getting a move from Bournemouth because I feel that would have been the worst thing for me.

“I love it here and I’m very lucky that I’ve got a manager like Eddie Howe, so I’m glad I never made that decision.”