On January 31, when Tottenham made the long trip up to the Stadium of Light on a Tuesday night, the majority were predicting them to batter Sunderland, who were lifelessly struggling at the foot of the Premier League table. However, not only did they draw 0-0 with the now-relegated club, they lost Danny Rose early in the match.
Season-Ending Surgery for Danny Rose
Rose went in with Billy Jones in a 50-50 tackle halfway through the first half and came off much worse. He eventually hobbled off and had not returned to action for Spurs since.
Uncertainty
After Danny Rose limped off that day, many still expected him to return by April. It seemed a certainty he would be back by the end of the season. Initially, it seemed as if he would return to action earlier than Harry Kane, who sustained ligament damage to his ankle on March 12 against Millwall. As the timeline moved further along, there was a growing uncertainty as to when Rose would return. Many speculated that he would return to action in the North London derby at the end of April.
Despite such speculation, Rose would not return to full training until after that match.
False hope
Rose returned to training shortly before Tottenham’s match against Manchester United last Sunday. However, it is believed that he continued to feel pain and thus could not play to his full power. His case does seem similar to when Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela got injured earlier in the season. In all three cases, the influential players were not predicted to have a long lay-off, but their timeline kept getting pushed back after this uncertainty of when they would return.
Rose did not make the bench against Manchester United, but many Spurs fans must have hoped he would be able to make an appearance against Leicester or Hull in their last two games of the season. However, similar to Erik Lamela, he has had to undergo surgery to combat a persistent, niggling problem.
A Tottenham statement on their website read:
“We can confirm that Danny Rose has undergone exploratory surgery on his left knee today. He recently returned to training; however, the problem has not resolved fully. Therefore a decision has been made to proceed with surgery. He will now return to action next season.”
The return from surgery
There is considerable speculation that Rose will most likely require three months to rehabilitate. Thus, he will miss both pre-season and the beginning of the 2017-18 season for Spurs. A few months ago, this would be a sign of huge weakness for Tottenham at left wing-back. The importance of Rose to this Spurs side is highlighted by the fact that he starred in the PFA Team of the Season despite playing only 18 games.
But since Rose’s injury, Ben Davies has played well and grown into his role during an extended time in the team. Despite this desperately disappointing news for Rose, Tottenham has liable cover and should hopefully welcome their star left wing-back into the fold at the beginning of next season.
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