Japhet on England v Germany and his road to recovery

Japhet Tanganga is backing England’s young stars to shine against Germany this evening – and has delivered an encouraging update on his journey back to fitness.

The 22-year-old defender has split his time during the off-season between following this summer’s international tournament on television and reporting in to Hotspur Way at regular intervals to work on his recovery after suffering an ankle ligament injury during our penultimate game of the 2020/21 campaign against Aston Villa.

With the Three Lions taking on their old foes at Wembley later (5pm UK), a refreshed and upbeat Japhet hopes to see Gareth Southgate’s squad register what would be a famous victory as he prepares to give himself another couple of hours off from his rehab to watch the game.

“It’s pretty much the equivalent of a derby really, so I think everyone is excited for this one!” said the Academy product, who has proudly represented England through the youth age groups, all the way up to Under-21 level.

“I think we owe ourselves a victory against Germany – in terms of the tournament, we need to win, but I think there’s a lot more on the line in terms of the rivalry between England and Germany as well. At the World Cup in 2010, that’s the first game that I watched between England and Germany and I remember the tension, the Lampard goal, everything really. We all know there’s a rivalry between the two countries that goes back in history but now it’s a great opportunity against Germany to win and then hopefully go on a run towards the final. It would prove that the talent we have in the England squad is very good. I’ve played with some of the younger players, they’ve got quality and they’re there for a reason, plus Harry Kane is obviously one of the best strikers around so England’s team is full of talent and it’s why there’s such a high expectation for them to win, because they’ve got so much quality.”

Offering an update on how his recovery process has been going since being carried off on a stretcher against Villa on 19 May, Japhet added: “I feel good! I feel like I’m not far away and I believe I’ll be back sooner than perhaps some people think. I’m on the pitch doing my running, getting fitter and hopefully I’ll be back soon. Obviously you sacrifice holidays to stay here and just get ready so I haven’t really had an opportunity to get away anywhere, but it’s fine because I’m hoping it’s going to be a big season for myself compared to how it went last year. I want to stay fit and just play as many games as I possibly can.”