HARRY WINKS has finally made his Sampdoria debut more than FOUR months after signing.
The England international joined the Serie A club on loan in August to increase his game-time after making just nine Prem starts last season.
GettyHarry Winks made his Sampdoria defeat against Empoli[/caption]
GettyIt was the midfielder’s first competitive appearance for 239 days[/caption]
But an ankle injury overshadowed his time in Italy and forced him to miss the first half of the campaign.
Winks underwent surgery to fix the problem back in November.
He said on Instagram: “Absolutely gutted it’s come to this, I came here with the hope to give my all to this club.
“However after trying everything to return to playing, a persistent problem I had since the summer has resulted in surgery.
“I’m positive the procedure went well and all my focus is on returning as soon as possible to help the team.
“Thanks for all the support .”
He made a swift recovery though, and was in the squad for the first time against Napoli last week and was also an unused substitute in the 1-0 loss at Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia.
But the midfielder finally went one better and made his Sampdoria debut against Empoli as a 61st minute substitute.
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It was Winks’ first competitive outing for 239 days, since he came off the bench for Tottenham at Norwich on the final day of last season.
But he wasn’t able to stop his side from slipping to a thirteenth Serie A defeat of the campaign, although they were denied a 97th minute equaliser by VAR following a lengthy wait after a handball in the build-up.
Sampdoria remain 19th, a seven points from safety.