Richarlison reveals his groin injury was so bad he stopped shooting to avoid pain… as Tottenham forward opens up on ‘very bad path’ he went down with his mental health before his return to form following surgery
- Richarlison had surgery after a decline in form to solve the groin problem
- The striker scored twice on his return in the 4-1 win against Newcastle on Sunday
- Todd Boehly reminds me of the rich drunk guy at a sports memorabilia night with the players Chelsea bought – Listen to It all starts
Richarlison has revealed he struggled with an injury that became so bad he had to stop shooting during the match – and spoke about the toll it took on his mental health.
Tottenham's Brazilian international striker, who scored twice in a 4-1 win against Newcastle on Sunday in his first start since surgery to fix the groin problem, said his poor form led to criticism and a crisis of confidence.
“I'm very happy to be able to play again,” said Richarlison, 26.
'I recovered very quickly and this was an extra motivation for me. I had been suffering from these pains since last year and felt a lot, especially when it was time to wrap up.
'So much so that I didn't even practice kicking during the warm-up before games because it kept getting worse and I couldn't do the simplest movements without discomfort afterwards.
Tottenham striker Richarlison underwent surgery to solve a groin problem after a dip in form
The Brazilian forward scored twice on his return in the 4-1 win against Newcastle on Sunday
'Out of my desire to help both the club and the national team, I ultimately postponed this operation for many months, until I realized that I was actually harming myself and the teams, as I was not in a good physical condition to continue . '
After discussions with Ange Postecoglou and others at Tottenham, the decision was made to undergo surgery, despite the plethora of other injuries and suspensions at the club.
Richarlison broke down in tears on international duty in September after being substituted during Brazil's 5-1 win over Bolivia.
The striker, who missed a golden opportunity to get on the scoresheet after crossing from six yards, was visibly unhappy with the substitution and angry that he could not make an impact on the match.
Richarlison is clearly a striker who sets himself high standards and admitted he has learned several lessons during his time at Tottenham.
“I'm 'hungry', I always want to play, but I learned this lesson the hard way,” Richarlison told Mail Sport. 'If your (mental) health is not up to date, there is no point.
“A lot of people criticized me, said bad things about me, because I really wasn't performing at my best, and because my head wasn't feeling right anymore due to the lack of confidence and things off the field, which it was.” Not great either , everything went on a very bad path.
'So much so that I have taken a break from social media and said very little as I want to recover and am focused on that.
'Thank God I feel much better and without that pain. I am very happy with the goals I have scored, but also because I have been able to help the team more effectively.
“I had the energy to recover, I stole the ball from the first goal in midfield and arrived in one piece to finish later, things that didn't happen and that gives me a lot of confidence.
“Now we have to think about evolving with each game, have a good order and things will return to their place.”