Danny Rose has revealed he is seeing a psychologist to help with his return to the Tottenham team after injury led to "one of the most difficult periods" of his life.
The England international was in fine form for Spurs when he suffered a knee ligament injury in January, causing him to miss the rest of last season and the start of the 2017-18 campaign.
But Rose is now back in the fold for Spurs and the Three Lions and is seeking ways to return to his previous "untouchable" best.
"I have started seeing a psychologist to try to help me think positively," he said, as quoted by the Evening Standard. "I have started reading books, too.
"This injury has been one of the most difficult periods of my life. Last season I was doing well. I felt untouchable, I felt like I was one of the best, I felt that, if I carried on with that form, anything could have happened.
"Then the injury happened. It humbled me, it brought me back down to earth, it handed me a reality check. It just made me realise that football can be taken away from you at any given point.
"It happened in a freak accident and it was very hard to deal with, especially at the time when I thought I'd only be out for a couple of weeks but the weeks turned to months.
20 players took to the pitch for training at today, while Danny Rose worked indoors on a pre-planned recovery session. November 7, 2017
"I have spent a lot of time thinking about things. It's hard not to when you have been out for so long and you see your team flying and your country doing well to qualify for the World Cup.
"I have been having some help to channel my thoughts in a better way and hopefully that can help push me on."
And Rose found it particularly frustrating seeing Tottenham do so well in his absence.
"It was a bit stressful for me [at Spurs], seeing the same faces every day," he added. "I have been impressed, jealous and angry watching Tottenham's games.
"I came to St George’s, worked and then I went back to Tottenham and started training again. Once I was doing that, I fell in love with football again."
