Tottenham's Ben Davies has revealed Jose Mourinho’s words of encouragement helped him through his recovery from ankle ligament damage.
Davies returned in Sunday’s last-gasp 3-2 win at Aston Villa having not featured since suffering the injury 72 minutes into Mourinho’s first match in charge, against West Ham on November 23.
Mourinho was gushing about Davies in his absence, insisting his preferred tactical approach was “only possible” with the Welshman as a defensive left-back.
The injury was the worst of Davies’s career but he says Mourinho’s faith was a “massive boost” during his spell on the sidelines.
Davies told Standard Sport: “It’s really nice to hear. It’s a massive boost to confidence and it really helped me throughout my rehab time. It was tough at times: the weeks go on, you try to make it shorter but it’s not always the case. To hear that does spur you on. I was delighted to get back out there.
“Some boys are injured for a long time, football moves on quick and the team goes on without you if you’re not there. Having a manager keep you in his thoughts is really good, it gives you confidence, gives you a good target to come back. It felt good.”
Tottenham play RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday and their last-16 opponents are facing a defensive headache ahead of the first leg.
The Bundesliga side will travel to London this afternoon without three centre-backs, with linchpin Dayot Upamecano suspended after picking up three bookings in the group stage and Ibrahima Konate and Willi Orban both injured.
