Jan Vertonghen has revealed that a head injury against Ajax affected his final season as a Tottenham player.
Speaking to Belgian news outlet Sporza, the defender said: ‘That had a lot to do with that blow to my head against Ajax. Everyone thought I was angry with Mourinho, but at that point I just couldn’t. I still had a year contract, so I had to play. But when I played, I played badly.’
It’s heartbreaking to hear that Vertonghen’s head injury affected him for so long.
The former Ajax man clashed heads with another former Ajax player in Toby Alderweireld, during the Champions League semi-final first leg against the Dutch giants on April 30th 2019.
Vertonghen was then assessed for a lengthy period of time, before needing to be withdrawn having wrongly, but understandably, attempted to play on.
How many players would willingly walk out of a Champions League semi-final, after all?
However, we don’t tend to realise how severe head injuries can be, and also how long they can affect a player.
Vertonghen was, and is, a cult hero at Tottenham. He delivered consistently excellent displays across an eight-year period after signing from Ajax in 2012.
In that respect, it’s cruel to hear that his final season at the club was negatively influenced by something completely out of his control.
Hopefully, the Belgium international’s revelation can help the footballing world wake up to the severity of head injuries.
We simply can’t allow more players to experience months and months of difficulty, such as Vertonghen sadly had to endure.
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