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Tottenham starlet Winks: I'm finally pain-free and ready to kickstart my season

Harry Winks carried a flag and was ‘in awe’ of Cristiano Ronaldo the last time Tottenham hosted Real Madrid
Harry Winks carried a flag and was ‘in awe’ of Cristiano Ronaldo the last time Tottenham hosted Real Madrid

Harry Winks says he is finally pain-free and ready to start his season in earnest after shaking off the after-effects of his ankle ligament injury.

The 21-year-old was still experiencing discomfort five months after being stretchered off at Burnley in April, and was restricted to a few brief appearances in Tottenham’s opening six matches this term.

But the midfielder made his first start of the campaign against Barnsley last night and completed the full 90 minutes as Dele Alli’s second-half strike secured a 1-0 win at Wembley in the third round of the League Cup.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit with my ankle so for me it was a good chance to go out there, put everything to bed and get a good 90 minutes,” said Winks.

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“I feel like I’m 100 per cent now. It was a perfect opportunity to really put everything behind me, just move on and start the season from now.

“It’s difficult when you’re playing at 70 per cent in training and you know you’re really giving it everything you can but there’s a little bit of pain here and there. It’s frustrating but it’s football.

“Luckily enough I can say, touch wood, that everything’s ok now and it’s really feeling good and I’m feeling confident and strong.

“In the last week and a half, or two weeks, it started to get back to normal and I’m delighted with that, I really am.

“I got pulled out of the England Under-21 squad just to try and get it right. I got some advice from some specialists and since then it’s really started to progress.

“We’ve got a lot of games coming up – they come thick and fast – so it’s a good time for me to really start feeling 100 per cent now and start to kick on.

“I want to try to progress and do better than I did last season, by getting as many games and as many starts as I possibly can.”


Spurs were made to sweat for their victory over Barnsley, who lie 20th in the Championship, as the Tykes played a high pressing game from the off.

The midfielder was full of praise for the plucky underdogs led by Paul Heckingbottom, and insisted that Spurs were boosted by the Wembley crowd – despite being surrounded by 60,000 empty seats.

Winks added: “I think the fans were excellent.

“It’s just the size of the stadium. It’s difficult to really get that same atmosphere that you get at White Hart Lane or if you have a full stadium here.

“But the fans are always excellent and for us they were brilliant in getting us over the line.”

Summer signing Fernando Llorente was also given his first start of the season, making his full debut for Spurs after his move from Swansea.

The Spanish forward, who broke his arm during the summer, played for 67 minutes and said: “It’s my first game of the season, without a pre-season, and now I have to continue to work a lot.

“I need more time. This summer was hard because my arm meant a long stop. I don’t know how long [it will take to reach my best]. With minutes and confidence, I think every match will be better.

I feel very good in the club, I’m very happy to be here. Only I want to work very hard to achieve my best performance quickly. We know there is not too much time now but I think every day and every match we play better together.

When you change team the methods are different. We have to adapt to this thing but it’s not a problem. The important thing is to help the team in important moments. I think I have time.”