Winks raring to go again after toughest period of his career - but pain still hasn't gone away

Harry Winks says he has just come through the most difficult time of his career so far after his ankle injury – and he admits he is still waiting for the pain in the affected area to disappear.

The 21-year-old seized his opportunities to impress Mauricio Pochettino this time last year, catching the eye during Tottenham’s friendlies in Sydney, and he went on to enjoy a breakthrough campaign, making 33 appearances and scoring against West Ham.

However, his rapid progress was halted and his season ended when he suffered ankle ligament damage at Burnley on April 1.

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“The injury was probably the hardest and most difficult time of my career so far,” said Winks. “When you’re doing really well and you start to get opportunities and there are big games coming up like the FA Cup semi-final and the north London derby… There were a lot of games coming up and I was starting to get involved so it was tough.

“It takes a lot of strength to bounce back from something like that and work hard during it, but when you have good coaching and medical staff around you it seems to be a little bit easier.

“Now I’m back fit and playing, it makes you have that little more determination when you’re back out on the field.

“I’ve been out for four months and when you’ve been out that long you start to miss the game. Then when you’re back out there again you realise just how much you really do live it and enjoy it.”

Winks has not yet recovered completely, however.

“I still get a lot of pain and a few symptoms and stiffness in the ankle, which is normal,” he said. “It’s part of an ankle injury. I just have to play through it and hopefully in the next few months it will disappear slowly.

“I don’t think there’s a time period on the pain. It goes as and when it does on its own. I think some players have had ankle injuries for years and they still felt it for a long time. Other times it can go in months.

“Harry [Kane] and Jan Vertonghen have given me some good advice. A lot of the lads who have had ankle injuries have given me their experiences and it just gives you more of a clear mind on what to expect.”

Winks did not look too troubled when he faced Roma in New York on Tuesday, and it was he who scored the Lilywhites’ first goal as they came back from 2-0 down late on, before ultimately losing 3-2 at the death.

Tottenham’s tour of the USA has now taken them to Nashville, where they face Manchester City on Saturday – and Winks was speaking as seven of Spurs’ academy products, including Kane, visited Tennessee Soccer Club as part of Tottenham’s Global Coaching Player Development Programme.

Player development, and the goal of improving from within, is right at the heart of Pochettino’s philosophy – and Winks is keen to take further forward strides this term.

“I had a good season last time and was really happy with myself, but this season I want to improve even more as a player and kick on even more and be involved in as many games as possible,” he said.

“I think the most important thing, and the manager reiterates it, is that we’re a good team and we’ve got great players, but every single player wants to improve and has the ability to improve.

“We’ve got world-class players within the squad – people like Harry Kane, Mousa, Dele, Eriksen. We’ve got top players but if every player wants to keep improving and we keep improving then there’s no reason we can’t go one step further and win the league this year.

“We feel we’re good enough to win a trophy this year, every year. But it’s a long season and we can’t say we’re going to win one.

“I think we all believe in ourselves individually and as a team. It’s been well documented that we haven’t been as big in the transfer window as other teams but we don’t let that affect us as players.

“We have a job to do, to perform, to train and work hard every day. The manager, the board and everyone, they have their way of dealing with things and we as players just respect their decisions and will continue to work hard and improve as much as we can.”

Asked about Pochettino’s coaching methods, Winks said: “The most important thing the manager likes to drill into us is to work hard. That comes as the base.

“Sometimes if he believes that a certain player needs to work on a certain thing, or he wants to share some of his experience with us [individually] then he’ll do that.

“Usually, from my experience, he seems to tell the group as a whole what he expects and it’s down to us what we do with that information.

“But if he believes there’s something we need to improve on or work on, he’ll pull us over in training or show us clips in his office of what he wants us to do.

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“[Playing under him] is what you dream of as a young academy player in England because opportunities are difficult and that’s well documented – in England it’s tough for young players to get opportunities.

“The manager has proved since coming here that if you work hard, show the right commitment and right mentality, he will give you an opportunity – and as long as you repay that faith to him then it will still come.

“You get times when you realise there’s a lot of pressure on games, like against Monaco last season, but as a player you want these tests. You want to be able to play in those games.

“It’s what you work hard for and, for me, I love the pressure of it to be honest because it’s what I’ve been working all my life for.”

While Winks’ primary focus is on cementing his status in Spurs’ first-team squad, it is surely only a matter of time before he is called up to the England squad – the Three Lions would surely benefit from his quick passing and ability to maintain a rapid tempo.

“Obviously I have goals and ambitions that I’d love to achieve this year,” he said. “Of course I’d love to play for England this year, but that’s not something I’m saying I’m going to set myself to do. I’m just going to take it step by step in getting into the team.”

Winks is eligible to play for Spain but he said: “I’ve been at England since I was at Under-17 level. I consider myself English.

“I’ve got Spanish grandparents and I’ve got a connection with Spain, but for me I consider myself English and I want to play for England. That’s what I’ve said all along. I’m learning Spanish but I’m not very good!”

There is a certain Spanish quality to Winks’ game – his desire to be on the ball and dictate play with lots of passes – and, privately, it is believed Pochettino refers to him as his ‘little Iniesta’.

Winks has not heard that from the manager himself but he said: “I’d love him to – it’s not a bad title to have.

“I can only go off what I’m like as a player. I would say I am myself, I can’t really compare myself to anyone else.

“Players like [Andres] Iniesta are top, top players and I’m not at that level just yet but I like to draw different types of models and games from different players and Iniesta is certainly the type of player I could look at and would like to draw parts of his game out into mine.”

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