I was on the sideline with a knee injury and when I came back, I wanted to play at the best level I could. And that's the case for a lot of players, they want the chance to play against the best competition.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
The knee just isn't 100 percent. It's hard to be out there when you know that you can't play at your best and could potentially make it worse.
At Norwich, I was injured, and then I went to Leicester, and I found myself on the bench. But I still used that to my advantage as an experience - I had to do that here at Spurs for a while, be on the bench and wait for my chance. It's definitely something that's helped me with my game.
I'm not here just to walk two rounds or four rounds and just show up. I want to be able to be competitive, and I truly believe I can still be competitive when I'm playing well and feeling good.
You just go out there and try to compete and try to make a play for your teammates.
I'm fortunate: I can play as long as I want to play. There's no coach or trainer who is going to say to me that I'm dropped or sacked, it's time to move on. I can play as long as I want to play.
It's tough to play well - or not that well - when you're injured.
If they want me I'd love to come back. I'm not going to play because I can, I'm going to play because I deserve it.
Some people asked me if it was going to be a downer to come back and play on a college team after playing on a world championship team, and I don't think they understand what it is like to play here.
I never had a serious injury that kept me out of a big competition. Now everyone has injuries - to their feet or their knees or their backs.
I try to encourage all my teammates, and I sure hope that some day all athletes - my kids, high school kids - get the same level of care I get. Because you can play for a long period of time without having knee replacements, without having all the major head trauma that people are dealing with.