Jose Mourinho has lifted the lid on his clash with Danny Rose, revealing that the issue stemmed from the defender complaining about a back injury — only to then report for training.
As reported by Sportsmail, Rose and Mourinho had a heated exchange after the left back was excluded for last Saturday’s goalless draw with Watford. Rose sought an explanation from his manager on Friday, before taking issue with Mourinho again the day after the match.
The Portuguese manager tried to clear the air with Rose on Monday and insisted yesterday he does not have ‘any problem’ with Rose.
‘He was not selected against Watford and Middlesbrough. The reason he was not selected against Middlesbrough is we have a young left back we want to develop and it was a great opportunity to play Ryan Sessegnon,’ Mourinho said.
‘On the Thursday before Watford, late evening, I got a call from my medical staff saying Danny was calling them with a problem in his back and he wouldn’t train the next day. So Friday, the day before the game, it was a bit of a surprise that he was ready to train.
‘It was not a big problem but I decided then to play Japhet Tanganga and have Ryan on the bench.’
Rose, fit to return against Norwich tonight, is wanted on loan by Newcastle, but Spurs would prefer to sell.
Spurs’ interest in Norwich right back Max Aarons has cooled because Mourinho wants a taller, more physical player.