Charlie Eccleshare has given the opinion that Danny Rose has not been the same since 2017, which he said during a Q&A on The Athletic.

What did he say?

Japhet Tanganga was occupying the left-back spot for Spurs during their 0-0 draw against Watford, putting in an impressive performance.

The 20-year-old made five successful tackles, eight clearances and one interception, while also maintaining a pass success rate of 81%.

It was, perhaps, seeing somebody who is naturally a centre-back playing so well in the position that led one fan's mind to stray to Rose.

After the encounter they asked about his decline, Eccleshare replied: "Don't think he's ever been quite the same player since that knee surgery in 2017. Both physically and mentally."

A clear decline

In May 2017, the England international underwent knee surgery which kept him out for the rest of that campaign, having already been missing since damaging medial ligaments against Sunderland in January, as reported by BBC Sport at the time.

Before that injury had been sustained, Rose made 18 Premier League appearances, averaging 2.8 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 2.9 clearances per game.

Comparing that to the current campaign, in which he has made 10 starts and two substitute appearances so far, Rose makes 1.3 fewer tackles, 0.5 fewer interceptions and 0.4 fewer clearances per game.

Going forward, he averaged 1 key pass and 2 dribbles per game, as opposed to 0.9 key passes and 0.8 dribbles this time around.

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The left-back also scored two goals and assisted another two that campaign, but has failed to make a single goal contribution this term.

The above statistics indicate that Rose's influence has declined in both the attacking and defensive phases, offering an indication of just how much his game has regressed.

Whether the surgery is to blame is unknown, but Eccleshare is certainly correct in suggesting that his influence has wained since it took place.

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