Tottenham Hotspur host Norwich City in the Premier League tonight.
Jose Mourinho has stated that he was left ‘surprised’ when Danny Rose turned up for training last Friday because he was initially told that the Tottenham defender wouldn’t be available.
The Spurs boss shared that the medical staff informed him, via phone on Thursday evening that Rose was calling with a ‘problem in his back’ and, as a result, he ‘wouldn’t train the next day’.
Therefore, Mourinho admitted that on Friday, the day before Spurs’ goalless draw away at Watford, he was left surprised that the 29-year-old was ‘ready to train’.
“He was not selected against Watford and Middlesbrough,” Mourinho told Football London. “The reason why he was not selected against Middlesbrough is we have a young left-back that we want to develop and it was a great opportunity to play Sessegnon. And also because his performance against Liverpool was phenomenal.
“On the Thursday before Watford, late evening, I got a call from my medical staff saying that Danny was calling them with a problem in his back and he wouldn’t train the next day.
“So Friday, the day before the game, it was a bit of a surprise that he was ready to train. It was not a big problem but even so, I decided then to play with Tanganga and have Ryan on the bench. That’s the situation.”
In that game against Watford, up and coming defender, Japhet Tanganga played at left-back for Spurs, with Sessegnon on the bench and Rose not even in the matchday squad.
During these past 18 or so months, it has been an indifferent time for Rose, who has without a doubt, declined and gone the other way in regards to his performances.
Rose’s contract at Tottenham is due to run out in 2021 and it has been well-documented that he isn’t seeing eye-to-eye with chairman Daniel Levy.
If Mourinho can get the best out of him once again then Spurs will have one of the best left-backs in the Premier League on their hands.
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