London, Feb 28(ANI): Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, dealing with the collapse of his marriage to Cheryl Cole, is believed to be in turmoil and has talked about walking away from football.

According to reports, the fact that his divorce was sparked off by a series of love cheat exposes has piled more pressure on the 29 -year-old, who is recuperating from the broken ankle he sustained three weeks ago.

“Ashley is in a very bad way. He is very down and his friends are concerned about his state of mind. He’s a broken man. He is in his own world. Ashley can be quite shy, but he’s always an upbeat person. But at the moment he doesn’t want to talk to anyone,” The Mirror quoted Cole’s friend, as saying.

“It seems the full scale of what’s happening has hit him and it’s hit him hard. He feels a long way from home and powerless to do anything to stop his marriage unraveling,” he the friend added.

Cole’s betrayal with American Ann Corbitt, who emerged as the fourth woman in the space of a week to say he had cheated on Cheryl with her was, is being seen as the final straw for Cheryl, who texted her husband to tell him their marriage was over.

And when Ashley realized his marriage was imploding, he warned Cheryl: “If you leave me I don’t know what I’ll do”.

Meanwhile, a source, who is close to both Cheryl and Ashley, said: “Until the American girl, Cheryl genuinely believed there was something worth salvaging in the marriage. But reading about this girl and the lengths Ashley went to cover his tracks made up her mind once and for all.”

“It was a case of ‘How many more?’ And when Ashley got the message that Cheryl was throwing in the towel it seemed to tip him over the edge. He was already fragile and then he went into freefall,” the source added.

Local government worker Ann told last week how she romped with Cole in his hotel in Seattle during Chelsea’s pre-season tour in July 2009. (ANI)