‘Always breaking down’ - Tottenham hero Ledley King opens up on injury issues and England fear

Ledley King has revealed he “never felt confident” when called up for England due to his recurring injury problems.

The Tottenham Hotspur legend suffered well-documented knee problems during the back end of his career. King’s troubles were so severe that he rarely trained, preferring to reserve his body for games.

Harry Redknapp opened up about how brutal the defender’s injury was while serving as Spurs boss. He said: “There's no cure. There's no cartilage, nothing to operate on. It's just bone on bone. So it's just a question of managing it. It swells up after games and it normally takes seven days to recover but having played on Monday night he's had less time than usual.

“He rarely trains, he mostly just goes to the gym to keep himself ticking over. But not running or anything like that. But even if he only plays 20 games a season, he's worth having because he's so good. We have a much better chance of winning."

His knee forced him into an early retirement at 31 but King still managed to earn 21 England caps. That is despite John Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell enjoying relatively injury-free careers while competing with the Tottenham man.

But King has admitted international recognition used to concern him due to the extra strain on his body. Speaking to The Telegraph, the now 43-year-old also revealed knee issues to trouble him — 11 years after hanging up his boots.

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“During the five years of not training, there were numerous times when England would call me up,” King said. “But I never felt confident in my body to add another