Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks is thrilled that he has been able to feature so regularly for Spurs this season after banishing concerns over an ankle injury.
The 23-year-old came into this season thinking he would have to manage the ankle problem that ruined his World Cup hopes.
Winks suffered the problem in the latter part of last season and had to go to under the knife, ruining any chance he would go to Russia with England in the summer.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino warned at the start of the campaign that the injury would still need to be managed, suggesting Winks might not feature too regularly.
However, the opposite has been true as the 23-year-old has been a key presence in Spurs’ midfield while others have fallen around him.
He has made 23 Premier League appearances, putting over 1,300 minutes on the clock amid a gruelling fixture list.
Winks said: “It’s been fantastic, since the beginning of the season, I set some aims, I set some goals and that was just to play as many games as possible and stay fit all season and it has been good so far.
“I have played a lot of matches, which is what I wanted and hopefully fingers crossed I will stay injury free. It has been everything I wanted since the beginning of the season.
“I still have niggles here and there in my ankle which I am managing to play with.
“I have managed to somehow put that to the back of my mind and not focus on it much and probably not worry or overthink as much as I should have.”