Ryan Sessegnon has admitted he did everything he could during pre-season to ensure his injury problems do not resurface this season.
Sessegnon was viewed as one of the best young talents in English football when Tottenham snapped him up from Fulham as a teenager back in 2019 for a fee of £25m (ESPN).
Back then, some drew comparisons between the youngster and Gareth Bale, who also arrived at Spurs as a full-back during his teen years before evolving into one of the best attackers in world football.
Sessegnon admitted that he tried to emulate Bale as a youngster and he was inspired by the former Spurs star’s displays against Inter Milan in the Champions League back in 2010.
The 22-year-old told The Telegraph: “He (Bale) was just so energetic. Powerful, pacy. I remember the Champions League game for Spurs against Inter Milan. When he scored two in one game and a hat-trick.
“I always watched those video clips and tried to emulate my game on what he was doing.
“We lived in Roehampton. There was a little cage right next to where we lived. Me and Steven (his twin brother) were there every day after school, even before school as well.
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“It was a concrete pitch so you couldn’t do too much on it. But we always had a ball with us. Other kids from the area would come and we would play until it was dark and you couldn’t see each other on the pitch, because there were no street lights.”
Injury problems have prevented Sessegnon from reaching his potential at Spurs and Football.London reported back in June that the former Fulham man was working with fitness trainer Dan Lawrence to strengthen the various muscle groups in his legs.
The 22-year-old has now admitted that he worked extremely hard during the summer break to ensure his body is able to cope with the demands of Antonio Conte’s pre-season.
Sessegnon said about his summer regime: “It was more injury prevention, being able to cope with the demands of pre-season, which I knew was going to be tough, and getting a bit bigger in gym, building my legs, and stamina-wise doing a lot of runs.
“I was doing everything I could. ice baths, massage, that kind of stuff, high-protein diet, eggs, chicken, drinking a lot of water. It was very hot where I was doing my work in Portugal.”
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One can see why Conte is determined to persist with Sessegnon. Apart from the youngster’s physical attributes, which make him a good fit for the wing-back role, the 22-year-old also seems to have the right attitude and is evidently willing to work extremely hard on his game.
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