In an effort to put his injury problems in the past and establish himself as a mainstay in Tottenham’s starting lineup, Ryan Sessegnon has put on some weight during the summer.
The rising talent for England’s Under-21 national team, who moved to Spurs from Fulham in the summer of 2019, has struggled with hamstring injuries for the better part of his time in north London.
The 22-year-old experienced somewhat of a second wind toward the end of the last campaign, when he started each of the final six games played.
And he is so intent on remaining in Antonio Conte’s first squad that he spent the majority of the off-season doing weights in order to get in better shape.
Sessegnon is quoted as saying, “I utilised the off-season as a time to develop muscle into both my legs and my upper body.” If you are able to notice a change, then clearly what you did was effective!
“I did it to make myself stronger and play more games, to have the capability to go up and down for the full 90 minutes of play,” he said. “I did it to make myself stronger and play more games.”
“That is one of my goals for this season, to play in as many games as I possibly can.
“It will help for sure, one hundred percent, because during the previous season I was having these injuries because places around my hamstring weren’t very strong,” he said. “It will help for sure, one hundred percent.”
“During the off-season, I’ve been able to focus on my hips and glutes by performing all of these different exercises in order to make it stronger in every region.”
Sessegnon stated that during his time in Portugal in June he put in double workouts, during which he lifted free weights, did endless squats, and ran a great deal.
This occurred prior to the gruelling preseason in which Conte and his coaching staff pushed the wing-back, along with the rest of the Spurs group, through hell while they were on tour in the hot weather of South Korea at the beginning of July.
Sessegnon, who has put on a noticeable amount of muscle over the course of this summer, is competing for the post of left wing-back with Ivan Perisic, who was recently signed to the team.
The Croatian international, who is 33 years old and previously played for Inter Milan, signed on a free transfer this summer. He brings with him a plethora of experience, having won the Bundesliga, Serie A, and Champions League, in addition to scoring the game-winning goal in the 2018 World Cup final.
Sessegnon, on the other hand, has been getting beneficial advice from Perisic, despite the fact that they are competitors.
The explanation he provided was that “I can learn a lot from him technically, mentally, and physically.”
“He has already assisted me by providing me with a few pointers, tips about how to have a greater impact on the game from an offensive standpoint and score more goals.
Being at the correct place at the right moment more frequently when the ball is on the opposite side, being intelligent, making use of my intelligence, and speaking a little bit more.
It’s good for both of us to have healthy competition, but anything I can pick up from him will be beneficial to me in the long term. In the course of his career, he has amassed a significant number of goals while playing in that position. It can only be of assistance to me moving forward.
As a result of his play for Fulham in the 2017โ18 season, during which he became known for his threat in the final third of the field, Sessegnon rose to prominence as one of the most in-demand young players.
Because of this, the Cottagers were able to earn promotion to the Premier League, and Sessegnon is optimistic that he will be able to maintain this level of play in the higher division.
He continued by saying , “More goals and assists will keep me in the team so that’s my target.”