Pierre Emile Hojbjerg has admitted to Tottenham Hotspur’s official website that he is constantly playing through the pain barrier to help his side out.
Playing through the pain
Hojbjerg is set to rack up his 50th successive Tottenham appearance in the Premier League tomorrow, with Antonio Conte’s side due to take on Brentford this week.
It is quite an achievement for a player who has rapidly become one of the first names on the team sheet at Spurs since his move last summer.
But Hojbjerg admits that the demands of playing every single game are taking their toll on his body.
“In over 50 per cent of the games there is a pain here, a pain there, a doubt here, a doubt there, but luckily the mind is much stronger than the body and if you manage to come across that, you’ll come a long way,” he said.
“Again, for me, it’s not a celebration or a target to play 50 games in a row. I didn’t know! I try to make myself available and help the team. Then, it’s up to the coach to make his decisions. I will always be there to help the team, always there to give my all, pain or no pain, 50, 60 or 100 per cent, I will always try to give 100 per cent. That’s who I am.
“I’m not the most talented player that my team-mates will come across, but I am one who they can trust 100 per cent and know that even when it hurts, I will be there; even when it’s difficult.”
Team player
Thankfully for Tottenham, Hojbjerg’s physical pain doesn’t appear to have affected his performance to date.
The Dane remains one of their most aggressive pressers and constantly plays on the front foot.
Hojbjerg actually scored for Tottenham in their last game against Leeds United, with the 26-year-old required to play a box to box role under Conte.
His partnership with Oliver Skipp has been one of the positives to take from a season which hasn’t gone entirely to plan for Tottenham this term.
If Spurs are to turn things around they will be looking to leaders like Hojbjerg to inspire them.
The £15 million man (Sky) is clearly one of the biggest leaders in the dressing room, and only injury will stop his run of successive Premier League games ending as Conte doesn’t look like taking him out of the team by choice any time soon.
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