Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino wants Harry Winks to play with the pain, just as Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp suggested to Daniel Sturridge in 2015.
In the build-up to the Premier League match against Liverpool at the Wembley Stadium this past Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino made some interesting comments about midfielder Harry Winks.
Winks has only just returned from a long-term injury layoff which saw him miss the final three months of last season.
The 22-year-old midfielder actually suffered an ankle injury in November last season and somehow managed until February 2018.
Tottenham manager Pochettino told The Telegraph last week about Winks: “He has the possibility and the potential of course but now it is up to him and we go again: mentality.
“In his mind he [has to be] capable to learn about suffering; that there never is enough training, always try to be better. Football is his focus, not business that is around football.
“Maybe [if he learns this] he will arrive to play in a very good level and be one of the best midfielders in England.”
The aforementioned comments from Pochettino urging Winks to learn to play with pain are similar to what Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said about striker Daniel Sturridge during the 2015-16 season.
Back in November 2015, Klopp told BBC Sport about the England international striker, who is injury prone and has suffered fitness issues in recent years: “The situation is Daniel was very often injured in the last few months, and maybe years, so it is normal when you get back in training usually it is not the quality, but you need training.
“Your body has to learn to adapt to new intensities of training and in this time you have to learn what is serious pain and what is only pain.”
Sturridge is now part of the Liverpool team, and although the former Chelsea striker is not in the starting lineup, the 29-year-old remains an important player for Liverpool.
Klopp’s comments had the desired effect on Sturridge, and perhaps Pochettino’s will too on Winks.
Winks is a very talented and promising young midfielder, and the Englishman will be important for Spurs as the season progresses.
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