Tottenham<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
The England midfielder missed five months following an ankle operation in November, and made a brief return to the team before the injury flared up again.<\/span><\/p>\nHis latest comeback came at White Hart Lane on Sunday as he played 84 minutes of Spurs\u2019 dramatic 2-1 win over Birmingham City but Huddlestone admitted it had been tough watching from the sidelines for so long.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s been very frustrating, especially the size of the games that we\u2019ve played and the ones I\u2019ve missed,\u201d Huddlestone said. \u201cBut injuries happen and I\u2019ve known for a couple of years that I would eventually need an operation on my ankle, so it was sort of a case of when, not if. There were a few loose bodies floating around the joint which is why sometimes it was okay and sometimes it wasn\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI had a little setback recently and they scanned and x-rayed it, everything is fine and the surgeon was very happy with the results. I think at the time he did say it would take a while – I would be back playing but it would still be in the healing process.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI have only trained twice in the last three weeks, so it was a little bit of a surprise for the manager to put me in from the beginning. But I felt okay. My ankle felt decent enough. It was a little bit stiff at the beginning of the second half but once I got it moving again it felt alright.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cOnce you are out there, you put it to the back of your mind. As long as you\u2019re not in agony, really. You feel little things every so often but everything goes to the back of your mind when there\u2019s a tackle or a shot to be made.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nSpurs clinched fifth place on Sunday as they ended the season with 62 points \u2013 eight less than 12 months ago – and the Londoners will line up in the Europa League next season.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/u.goal.com\/131600\/131699hp2.jpg\")
Hanging on |<\/strong> Huddlestone says Spurs must cling on to players like Luka Modric this summer
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s been disappointing,\u201d admitted Huddlestone. \u201cObviously, you want to better yourself every year. We\u2019ve scored less goals, which is also a disappointment. It was a learning curve as well. We weren\u2019t maybe used to having the Champions League football, massive games.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main objective next season has got to be to finish in the top four again. But as Man City have shown, if you are consistent towards the end of the season then you might be able to finish in the top three.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chairman Daniel Levy has come out and said we don\u2019t need to sell. It has taken us a few years to get a squad together like this, so it would be a shame if we did. In football you never know what will happen. It will be an interesting summer, I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
England play Switzerland in a Euro 2012 qualifier on June 4 but Huddlestone does not expect to be part of Fabio Capello\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI\u2019ve only been in three or four England squads. It is something I want to do more regularly but that\u2019s not my main focus at the minute. It\u2019s trying to get us back in the Champions League next season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I have been injured the lads have played very well so it\u2019s going to be hard enough to get back into the Tottenham team, never mind the England squad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huddlestone says there is relief in the squad that Spurs qualified for the Europa League through their league position rather than achieving it through Uefa\u2019s Fair Play league, which would have meant the team having to play in the early rounds from June 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cPersonally, it wouldn\u2019t have mattered too much as I have missed a lot of this season,\u201d said Huddlestone. \u201cFor the lads like Daws (Michael Dawson) and Aaron Lennon, who went to the World Cup, if they have had no break last summer and this summer, and then if England qualify for the Euros next season, it would be three or four seasons on the spin without a rest. It will benefit us in the long run.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the squad we have got, the manager will be able to rest a lot of players and we still have quality. We saw a few years ago Fulham had a decent run and managed to keep a good performance level in the league, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Read this article:
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![\"Tom](\"http:\/\/u.goal.com\/115200\/115283_news.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\n