Winks promises unrelenting approach

He’s worked hard to get back onto the pitch – and now Harry Winks is vowing to go to even greater lengths to stay in top shape.

The Academy product has established himself in the Premier League with some all-action displays in the centre of midfield during the last few seasons, but ankle problems have forced him out of action on more than one occasion.

He recovered from an initial injury sustained at Burnley on 1 April, 2017, to produce some eye-catching performances in the opening months of last season, memorably controlling the midfield areas in our Champions League clashes with Real Madrid, but was laid low once more as we moved into 2018.

After surgery earlier this year, Harry has continued to work on his fitness at Hotspur Way and, on Saturday, made his first appearance since February with a late substitute outing in our 3-1 victory over Fulham at Wembley.

Now, he’s focused on moving forward step by step and doing the right things to ensure his injury woes are a thing of the past.

“I’m feeling good, feeling fit,” he said. “My ankle is feeling strong at the moment which is good so as long as I manage it well and stay on top of it relentlessly, which I will do, then everything should be all good.

“It’s horrible being injured. Speak to any footballer when they’re injured, watching the game and not playing – it’s the worst thing but it’s part of football, part of the game and you’ve got to deal with it. Whatever happens in the game, it’s the way you bounce back and hopefully it’s going to be a fresh and very good season for me.

“It was really good to get back out on the pitch against Fulham – it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been working hard over the last few months to get fit and get back out there and to do that, play back in the Premier League and see the team win, it’s a great feeling.”

Harry has never been one to take things for granted. This time last year he was giving off similar vibes, only to see his season fizzle out ahead of time. So has he done anything differently in his bid to regain fitness this time around?

“Obviously I had my operation but other than that, it’s been pretty much the usual routine,” he said. “Maybe I’m a little bit more relentless in my recovery after training and playing, making sure I’m still mobile and feeling good, but other than that it’s just about putting in the hard work.

“Especially in the Premier League, there’s so much competition so you have to be on top of your game. We have a great squad here and we all do that every week.

“From my point of view, it’s all positive because we’ve got a good mood in the camp, a good mentality going into the season, we’ve got six points out of six so far and hopefully we can have another really good year as a Club.”

Check back here on tottenhamhotspur.com tomorrow (Thursday) for more from Harry, including how he feels about taking on the responsibility of wearing number eight for Tottenham Hotspur.