Sessegnon's latest injury setback cannot define a player with so much career left
Once one of the most promising players of his generation, injuries have robbed Sessegnon of a chance to kick-on
It's 2018 and a then-17-year-old Ryan Sessegnon had just played a key role in Fulham vanquishing Derby to reach the showpiece Championship play-off final at Wembley.
The teenager had scored 16 goals and laid on eight assists during the season, despite spending half of it as a left-back and half as a winger. He won five EFL awards, including being named the Championship Player of the Season despite his age, and was being spoken about as a potential surprise England squad inclusion for the World Cup in Russia a month later.
Said Fulham boss Salvisa Jokanovic:
"He’s the best young player I’ve managed in my life.
"I’ve managed important players like [Stevan] Jovetic and [Adem] Ljajic in Partizan Belgrade but this man is really different. To play at this age he’s competing really hard at Championship level and shown fantastic quality.
"He’s one of the best football ‘projects’ in England and the world. He has huge potential ahead of him and a healthy mentality. I believe he can arrive and become a top player."
Sessegnon had scored in that semi-final first leg before his corner was knocked in by Denis Odoi. In the final at Wembley, the teenager set up the only goal of the game for captain Tom Cairney.
"He's 17 years old and he's special," declared Jokanovic.
The young wide man had the world at his feet and, even if his first season in the Premier League was tougher, he still managed six assists and two goals in the top flight, despite falling out of Claudio Ranieri's starting XI for periods of the campaign as the Italian tried to turn around results for the promoted team following Jokanovic's exit with older players.
Former Chelsea boss Ranieri had worked across the world, winning the Premier League with Leicester City, yet he still said of Sessegnon:
"He’s a young player with a lot of qualities. I think he’s one of the best young players that I’ve met. He must be exuberant and strong. For me he’s very intelligent. He will improve a lot."
Tottenham had chased Sessegnon for a couple of years and in 2019, despite fierce competition from Manchester United and other clubs at football's top table, they managed to get him with a £30m bid and Josh Onomah going in the other direction.
The problem for Sessegnon is that he had already suffered the first of what would become a string of hamstring injuries that have fragmented his career since.
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