At 21 years of age, Tottenham Hotspur player, Japhet Tanganga, looks to have a bright future in the game, however, former player-turned-pundit, Michael Brown, is fearful because of Tanganga’s recent injury.
The Daily Telegraph reported ahead of Project Restart that the youngster had suffered a stress fracture in his back, and though it’s unlikely to be a career-ending injury, Brown is still concerned as to how it might affect Tanganga going forward.
“He’s a man of many positions, we’ve talked about the benefits of being able to play different positions as a young player, none more so than him,” Brown told Football Insider.
“It’s the type of injury that worries me, you know? When you get an impact injury – you roll your ankle, you twist your knee – but a stress fracture you’ve got to be a little bit more careful.
“They’ve got a great physio there, Geoff (Scott), who looks after him, he was there when I was there and they’ve got unbelievable care down at Spurs. I’m sure they’ll be giving him the best.
“Hopefully we can see him soon because, as you say, he’s a really exciting prospect.”
Jose Mourinho had shown confidence in the player before the 2019/20 season had to be curtailed because of the coronavirus crisis, Football Insider reporting that he’d started six of the final eight Premier League games before the break.
Although he will play no further part in the current campaign, as Brown alludes to, his reintroduction to the team needs to be managed correctly to avoid any chance of a similar injury occurring.
It may well be that Mourinho looks to ease him back in again gently when the time is right, given that a longer-term view is surely the most sensible.