Tottenham Hotspur’s and England international defender Danny Rose has claimed he is fit enough to play in any team in the Premier League currently after he returned from his long-term injury – all apart from Tottenham, that is.
Rose was ruled for 10 months after he suffered knee ligament damage at Sunderland in January 2017 but seemed to be closing in on a full return as he made his comeback for the club in November of last year, only to suffer a setback against Southampton tow months ago.
However, despite being back in action for Tottenham first-team fold, he’s down the pecking order behind Ben Davies under Mauricio Pochettino for crunch games and has been reliant on the FA Cup for prolonged minutes on the pitch.
But despite the frustration of having to play second fiddle for Tottenham, the England international thinks he’s aware of Pochettino’s standpoint, as despite claiming he is current fit enough to play for any other team in the Premier League top-flight, Rose knows his Argentinian boss expects another level.
Rose said:
“I felt I’d started to hit good form before the Southampton setback, then I had to spend a month in the gym to get stronger again.”
“It’s great to be back again of course, but I need to build up my match fitness.
“I’d say I’m probably match fit for any other team in the league, but still not quite where I need to be and where I’d like to be for this team.
“Being match fit isn’t good enough here, you have to be exceptionally fit for the way we like to play and I was close to that before my last setback.
“It’s probably going to take another couple of matches now to get me back to where I was.
“We’ve got so much more to play for this season and I want to make sure I’m part of it. There are really exciting times ahead.”
Unfortunately for Spurs, those exciting times ahead do not include Champions League football, after the club was dusted out by Juventus at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday evening.
It seems even before the games, tempers were flaring in anticipation of the showdown, with boss Pochettino spotted taking Rose away from training for an “animated” discussion around Hotspur Way during an open session.
Poch’s chat with Rose added further speculation to the player’s future at the club, but his manager was quick to rebuffed any questions regarding the incident during his post-session press conference.
“That was a private conversation”, the Tottenham boss said.
“It was just a coincidence that you saw me, but that is the normal way I approach my players. Just today, you picked me out talking to him.
“Animated? Yes. It is because we have passion. We might not show it too much on the touchline, but we are people who feel passion.”
Although, his side European dream is over for another season, the must quickly pick themselves up ahead of their crunch Premier League with AFC Bournemouth is preparation for their FA Cup quarter-final tie with Swansea City the following weekend.