‘Affected me’ – 24-year-old reveals moment at Spurs that made him mentally stronger

Southampton defender Kyle Walker-Peters has revealed that a broken leg early on during his Tottenham career helped him to develop a mental toughness. 

Walker-Peters left boyhood club Spurs to join the Saints permanently in the summer of 2020, after undergoing a successful loan spell for the second half of the 2019-20 campaign. 

The 24-year-old has gone on to excel under Ralph Hasenhuttl on the south coast, and even managed to earn a senior England cap for the first time in his career last month.

But despite the current highs, Walker-Peters had a moment during his time at Tottenham that could have set him back in his career – a broken leg as a 12-year-old while playing for the club’s academy. 

The full-back claims the injury ‘really affected’ him as it kept him out of action for so long, but admits the ‘experience’ allowed him to build mental fortitude. 

He said (via Hampshire Live): “I suffered a broken leg when I was around 12. It was playing a game for Tottenham against Ipswich. 

“It really affected me as a young kid. The toughest thing was not being able to play football and then seeing my peers improving every day and training every day. 

“I almost had to catch up on a whole year to the rest of my age group. It was quite tough mentally but credit to my family and all the staff at Tottenham that helped me get through that time.

“As a footballer, there’s always ups and downs, so I think to experience something like that so young, definitely made me very tough mentally.”

Walker-Peters made 24 appearances for Tottenham’s first team (Transfermarkt) after being handed his debut by Mauricio Pochettino in 2017. 

Spurs Web Opinion 

Walker-Peters had a few good moments for Spurs, but realistically he was never one to be trusted completely at the time. The move away was still the correct one for both parties and it is excellent to see him in good form for Southampton currently. 

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