I feared I would never come back - Erik Lamela

ERIK LAMELA has spoken for the first time about the agony of his 400 day injury nightmare with crippling hip issues.

He confessed: “It was the worst time of my life – I feared I would never be back.”

The £30million Argentine forward made his long awaited return as a second-half substitute during Tottenham's damaging 2-1 defeat at Leicester on Tuesday to end 400 days of uncertainty, when he feared his career could be over at 25. Yet he managed to produce one of Spurs’ few bright spots when his slide-rule pass set up Harry Kane’s late consolation strike to remind Tottenham fans what they have been missing.

Lamela confessed: “The last 13 months was crazy. It was probably the worst time of my life. I really wanted to play but it took too long.

“There were low points of course, like when I had two surgeries in one month, one on each hip. Of course I was not available to play and in those really bad times you always think the worst. “But my family was always with me and the supporters wanted me on the pitch. They brought energy to my work every day and convinced me to never give up. I’m here today because I really wanted it and when you really want something you can do it.”
Lamela’s long-awaited return was the perfect response to the Cyber-sickos who polluted social media with rumour and innuendo which ranged from falsely claiming the 25-year-old had failed a drugs test, to claiming he had a degenerative hip condition.Some even mockingly suggested he was actually DEAD!

Lamela said: “Everyone is different in life. Some people wanted me back and I was only focused on that.

“My family was always with me, my girlfriend always pushing me to be back. Of course it was hard to be so long out of the pitch but it’s football, no?” Lamela’s year from hell also included the death of his beloved pet bulldog, Simba and a serious injury to his brother. However Mauricio Pochettino always kept faith with him and the forward to recuperate at his former club Roma, where he could be among close friends in Rome. Lamela added: “The manager and all the staff honestly were amazing. They were always with me, behind me. All of us wanted the same thing - me playing.

“Of course, I can get much better. I am still not 100 per cent but I am good enough to play and I’m happy to be back – but disappointed with the result.”

From The Sun