'I didn't play enough for England – my injury torment left me depressed'

Former Tottenham skipper Ledley King has travel cleanable astir the wounded troubles that each but ended his vocation and had a dire effect connected his intelligence health

Former Tottenham defender Ledley King admits helium should person earned much England caps but was stopped by his long-suffering injuries.

Spurs fable King, who prominently captained the nine from 2005 up until his status successful 2012 and spent his full playing vocation successful northbound London, was plagued by infamous chronic genu issues passim his vocation - which galore believe prevented him from achieving his existent potential.

The defender often didn’t bid to reserve his body for matches and hung up his boots astatine conscionable 31 owed to specified problems that began affecting his day-to-day adjacent as acold backmost arsenic erstwhile helium was conscionable a teenager. He played for England conscionable 21 times.

Now, King has admitted that helium feels helium should person earned much caps for his country, but was prevented from doing truthful by some the carnal and intelligence torment that specified injuries caused him.

“I inactive consciousness similar determination should person been much [England caps], really,” King stated, opening up connected the Seaman Says podcast brought to you by Betway.

“During that time, I benignant of went done a play wherever I was truly struggling with my knee, truthful for astir 3 years, I benignant of wrote disconnected playing for England.

“They would often inquire maine to conscionable up successful the camp, but I didn't consciousness assured capable successful my assemblage to spell and bash that until the 2010 World Cup, wherever I benignant of travel retired retirement, though I ne'er truly retired from England. This was 4 years into not training.

“My genu would conscionable stroke up erstwhile I played a game, truthful during the week, I was successful the gym, successful the swimming pool, conscionable trying to get the swelling down to a constituent wherever I could really crook my genu again. By the clip I could crook it again, it was a weekend; that was the adjacent game.”

It wasn't conscionable the carnal broadside of specified chronic injuries that affected King’s playing career, but besides the intelligence anguish that came with often feeling arsenic though helium had fto some his nine and nationalist squad down by missing grooming sessions and matches.

“It was tough,” King added. “Any sports idiosyncratic volition archer you injuries are the toughest portion to woody with. So to person that implicit a five-year play of conscionable perpetually not training, not being with your teammates, it was tough.

“Now I look backmost astatine it, I think, mentally, I was astir apt a small spot depressed. Not being capable to person that enjoyment, conscionable being there. But astatine the clip you conscionable get connected with it, don't you? You bash what you can.

“I knew that I inactive had thing to springiness erstwhile I was there. That was what kept maine going. It was the assemblage arsenic well. I wasn't definite whether I was going to beryllium playing oregon not from 1 week to the next, and erstwhile I heard my sanction called out, the absorption I got from that was thing that motivated maine conscionable to beryllium retired determination arsenic overmuch arsenic possible.

“That was the information – conscionable support going, due to the fact that I ever said that erstwhile I felt similar I wasn't making the squad amended past it was clip to finish. I'm going done each this for a intent of making a quality connected the lucifer day.”

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