Tottenham Hotspur have announced that Ryan Sessegnon has undergone surgery after picking up a fresh hamstring injury in pre-season training.
The 23-year-old has been bedevilled by physical problems since joining Spurs in the summer of 2019 and was restricted to just 23 appearances in all tournaments last term.
Sessegnon suffered a season-ending hamstring problem back in February, ruling him out of Spurs' final 16 Premier League games of the season, as well as their Champions League and FA Cup eliminations at the hands of AC Milan and Sheffield United respectively.
The former Fulham man had also sat out 25 games in the 2021-22 season due to a spate of thigh problems, although he has held off on going under the knife until now.
In a statement, Spurs confirmed that Sessegnon's procedure was a success, and there is hope that the operation will help bring a permanent end to his perennial hamstring problems, but the club did not put a timeline on his recovery.
© Reuters
"Ryan Sessegnon has undergone surgery to his left hamstring following an injury sustained in pre-season training," Tottenham said. "Having previously suffered with his hamstring it is anticipated that the surgery following this injury will provide a permanent solution to the problem.
"Ryan will not be available for our upcoming pre-season tour but will continue to be closely monitored by our medical team to determine when he can return to training."
Sessegnon burst onto the scene with Fulham as a teenager and earned a €27m (£23m) switch to Tottenham four years ago, and he has since come up with three goals and four assists in 56 matches for the Lilywhites.
However, Tottenham have a ready-made replacement for the stricken Sessegnon in the shape of Destiny Udogie, who is aiming to make his mark in North London after spending the 2022-23 season on loan at Udinese.
Both Sessegnon and Udogie have thrived as wing-backs, but Ange Postecoglou is set to revert to a 4-3-3 system at Tottenham, who also have Ben Davies and Ivan Perisic available on the left-hand side, although the latter's future is shrouded in uncertainty.
© Reuters
As well as Sessegnon, Rodrigo Bentancur is also on the long road to recovery from his ACL problem, while Postecoglou revealed earlier this week that backup goalkeeper Fraser Forster will also miss their upcoming Asia-Pacific Tour.
"We do have a couple who are, obviously Rodrigo Bentancur has got his injury, is still a little bit off. Fraser Forster has got a bit of a back injury, which means he won't travel and won't be able to participate," Postecoglou said at his first press conference.
"There are a couple of others who are touch and go at the moment. We will see how they go for the next few days. For me, I would really like as many of the group along as possible because it is the best way to figure out how we set up our environment and sort of the culture around the group if everyone is there.
"But if it is going to be beneficial for some guys to stay back, we'll make that decision. I don't think there will be too many in that boat at the moment."
Tottenham meet West Ham United in Perth for their first pre-season friendly on July 18 before meeting Leicester City in Thailand on July 23 and Roma in Singapore on July 26.
Spurs then welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to North London for a charity friendly on August 6, seven days before they begin the new Premier League season away to London rivals Brentford.
