Ryan Sessegnon backed to bounce back from hamstring injury nightmare

Tottenham defender Ryan Sessegnon has been backed to bounce back from his latest hamstring surgery by a medical expert.

Sessegnon had an operation on his right hamstring on Monday after the 23-year-old suffered a muscle injury in action for Spurs’ Under-21s on February 17.

It was the second time Sessegnon has been operated on during the past 12 months, but significantly the previous surgery in July was on his left hamstring.

Ryan Sessegnon has undergone surgery to his right hamstring following an injury during an Under-21s match.

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 26, 2024

The ex-Fulham player has struggled with muscle injuries over recent seasons, although Sessegnon did state in an Instagram post that his left hamstring now feels “strong” and his hope that this operation on his right hamstring would end previous reoccurring issues.

Sports scientist Dr Rajpal Brar told the PA news agency: “He still has plenty of time right? It is just one of those things with injury cycles or muscular injuries where it can be really tough to get out of, even for more developed players.

“There has certainly been cases where other players have got into it (injury cycles) and got out of it. It is not by any means a death knell for his career or anything.

“He has plenty of time and the key will be some methodical rehab, then some good fortune so you have to hope for the best.

“He has more time to build back and there is also not as much pressure to get back than say a 29- or 30-year-old who is angling to get back to play and get a new contract or whatever it is, whereas it is different for a younger player.”

Sessegnon has not started for Tottenham since last January after he missed the second half of the 2022-23 campaign with a hamstring injury.

It was eventually decided to operate on Sessegnon’s left hamstring in July, which sidelined the one-time England Under-21 international for a number of months.

A cameo against Burnley in the FA Cup last month represented Sessegnon’s first appearance under boss Ange Postecoglou before he was dealt another injury blow when he broke down in a Premier League 2 fixture with West Ham.

Surgery on Sessegnon’s right hamstring was deemed the best course of action and the full-back has been tipped to return for pre-season by Los Angeles-based Dr Brar, who runs the 3cb Performance rehab centre.

Dr Brar added: “You look at elite footballers, the most common injured muscle is the hamstring and (surgery) is just one of those things where you try to reduce the risk.

“Surgery is never a guarantee of no re-injury but it is one of those things where you think it might give them a better chance of reducing the re-injury risk.

“Once you have surgery, you are looking at a 10 to 12-plus weeks timeline depending on all the specifics.

“The hope is that he can come back for pre-season, get some matches to rebuild that match fitness and match rhythm, then go from there to try to have him ready for the start of next season.”