Tottenham's Harry Winks takes injection in bid to solve ankle injury as World Cup hopes fade

Out | Harry Winks looked to be a certainty for England's World Cup squad before injuring his ankle
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Tom Collomosse6 April 2018

Harry Winks has undergone further treatment to try to cure the ankle problem that has kept him out of the Tottenham team during the second half of the season.

Winks has played only three times in 2018 as his ankle has not felt in ideal condition. He was forced to withdraw from the England Under-21 squad last month because of it, and it is now believed he has been given an injection that Tottenham hope will reduce the inflammation.

If the treatment works, Winks could still play a part for Spurs in the remainder of the season yet with only eight games left, time is not on his side.

The timing of the injury has been desperately unfortunate for the 22-year-old, who was establishing himself as one of the best young midfielders in England during the first half of the season and made his senior international debut in the 1-0 win in Lithuania last October.

Winks also starred in both Tottenham’s Champions League encounters against Real Madrid in the autumn, impressing scouts from Barcelona. At that stage, he looked certain to be included in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.

But the ankle trouble has hampered his progress and even when he started FA Cup matches against Newport and Rochdale, Winks did not feel at his best.

At the time, he said: “I had one ankle injury, then I came back, and I got another one. I was playing with it and I got to the point where I had to pull out. It wasn’t easy.”

Meanwhile, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino was hoping Harry Kane would be fit to start against Stoke on Saturday. Kane made a rapid recovery from damaged ankle ligaments and came on as a substitute in the 3-1 win at Chelsea last weekend.

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