In a perfect world, Tottenham Hotspur left-back Ryan Sessegnon would be the primary understudy to and rotation for Destiny Udogie under Ange Postecoglou. He certainly has the tools. The 23-year-old Sessegnon was considered one of the brightest young English players of his generation, which is why Tottenham signed him from Fulham in 2019 for £25m plus Josh Onomah. People thought he could have a career trajectory similar to Gareth Bale. Instead, he spent the 2020-21 season on loan at Hoffenheim but mostly has been waiting his turn to establish himself in Spurs’ starting lineup.
But he just can’t stay healthy. For the past two seasons, Sessegnon has been struggling with multiple hamstring injuries including one that eventually required surgery and that caused him to miss almost a year of action. Sess recovered in time to make a seven-minute cameo appearance in Spurs’ FA Cup win over Burnley in January, only to have a setback in his recovery that ruled him out an additional month.
And now Sess’s run of bad luck continues. According to Alasdair Gold at Football.London, Sessegnon recovered enough to start a match with Spurs’ U21s with an eye to regaining fitness. He lasted only 33 minutes before going down with yet another hamstring injury, this time to his other leg. Gold said he required crutches to get from the training pitch to the physical therapy wing at Hotspur Way.
God, I feel bad for him.
You can make an argument that it was always going to be an uphill battle for Sessegnon to cement his place in Tottenham’s first team. Even when healthy and playing semi-regularly, Sess’s performances vacillated between solid to downright awful, something that can probably be expected from a young player. However, it sure seems like his body is failing him right now and it puts his future — and possibly his career — in serious doubt.
Sessegnon’s Tottenham contract runs until the summer of 2025, which makes this season something of a make-or-break for him. Tottenham generally doesn’t like it when players go into the final years of their contract, but considering his injury history, how likely is it that Spurs offer him a new contract anytime soon? And even if you let him leave, how attractive is a player his age with his extensive injury history to other clubs, even down the table?
I have no evidence for this, nor do I know the extent of his most recent injury, but I think we’ve reached the stage where Sessegnon might need to give serious consideration to retiring from the game. His body seemingly can’t hold up to the rigors of top-flight professional football at age 23. Ledley King, as we know, came back from a long-term injury of his own to have an incredible Tottenham career, but the circumstances here are different (and I have my doubts that what Ledley did would ever be allowed to happen in today’s game).
I’d love to be wrong. If Ryan Sessegnon is able to somehow put these injuries behind him, get fully healthy, and become a top-flight professional footballer again I’ll be the first to cheer him. That said, the evidence seems to be pointing in the opposite direction. Even if he does recover, he’s now a young player with serious hamstring injuries in both his legs, which puts him at risk for a similar injury down the road. The road back is now longer and harder than it was last week and it must be devastating for him. There’s no shame in making the difficult decision to prioritize your health over your professional sports career. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.