Ryan Sessegnon training again after summer hamstring surgery

The irony of the situation is that if not for his latest injury, there’s a chance Ryan Sessegnon wouldn’t be a Tottenham Hotspur player. Sessegnon, largely marginalized by Antonio Conte, was one of the players tipped for the exit door last summer with the arrival of new head coach Ange Postecoglou as the Aussie boss revamped the squad for his specific brand of offensive tactics. But Sess picked up an injury in early July while in preseason training, one that required surgery, which put the kibosh on any potential news.

Now, according to Sami Mokbel in the Mail, he’s close to a return. Mokbel writes that Sess has resumed light on-field training as he tries to make a comeback before the close of the calendar year.

Is it, as the tweet says, a “major boost”? Probably not, but it is an opportunity for another redemption arc for a player who desperately needs one. Sess has long struggled not only with recurring injuries, but also his confidence, lurching at times between outstanding performances as a left back to disasterclasses. There are a lot of people in his corner as he was a super highly rated young English player whom Spurs poached from Fulham in 2019 at age 19, but he’s never really lived up to his potential at Spurs. That said, he has the physical tools to be an effective inverted fullback and a rotation or relief option for Destiny Udogie and it would be interesting to see whether he can adapt to Ange-Ball.

Even so, it’ll be a while before we see him. Mokbel writes that the Spurs physios are being extra cautious with his recovery to avoid re-injury, it’ll be weeks before he’s back up to anything close to fitness, and the club has not set a timetable for his return.

All that said, I’m curious about Sess. He definitely has the physical tools to thrive in Ange-Ball and if anyone needs a run of good fortune it’s probably him. The upcoming congested fixture period around Christmas feels like a good time to get him some minutes, possibly earlier if he’s ready and there are opportunities as a late-match substitute.

Anyway, it’s good news. A lot of fans might be ready to write Sessegnon off, but considering all the change at the club in the past few months, it feels like it’d be worth it for Ange to put an arm around his shoulder and see what he can do before he decides his future.