Concussion Hit Me For Months – Former Tottenham Defender Jan Vertonghen

Forum 3 years ago

Concussion Hit Me For Months – Former Tottenham Defender Jan Vertonghen

Former Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen says he felt the effects of a concussion he sustained playing for Spurs for the following nine months.

The 33-year-old Belgium international collided with Spurs team-mate Toby Alderweireld and Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana during the teams’ Champions League semi-final in April 2019.

He tried to play on before he was led off and appeared to vomit.

“I suffered a lot from that – dizziness and headaches,” said Vertonghen.

“I should not have continued playing, it affected me in total for nine months and that’s why I couldn’t bring what I wanted to on the field.”

Vertonghen, who moved to Benfica in August this year, told Belgian broadcaster Sporza that the injury contributed to a dip in his form during his final season at Tottenham.

“I still had a year left on my contract, so I had to play, but when I played, I played badly,” added Vertonghen.

“The fact I got benched had nothing to do with him [manager Jose Mourinho]. I was in a period [when] I could not bring what I should have. I even thought he played me a lot, compared to how I performed.”