Tottenham Hotspur loanee Mikey Moore has opened up on the mysterious absence that left both him and supporters frustrated last season.
The teenager had just started making a name for himself in the Tottenham first team and endearing himself to the fans as the next best thing to come through the academy.
He had also started gaining the trust of the then-manager Ange Postecoglou when a mysterious heart problem derailed his progress.
Moore suffered a virus that kept him out from early November until mid-January last year, but the primary details of his situation were kept under wraps due to his age.
Postecoglou did his best to downplay the severity of Moore’s situation at the time, emphasising that the youngster needed to deal with it in privacy.
“Look, I come out here and I want to be as transparent as I can, but this is a 17-year-old boy,” he said.
“I don’t like talking about what they have and what they don’t have. It’s nothing serious, but you know, he’s 17.
“We’re going to take our time, and I don’t like this kind of constant, not from you by the way, but I’ve just heard other bits and pieces of people speculating, Come on.
“It’s nothing serious. It’s nothing long-term. It’s just that he’s a young lad and he’s only 17.
“He’s a big part of this football club, and we will protect him, and we’ll be guided by how he feels, how he recovers from an illness.”
Moore opens up on mysterious ailment
Moore has since shaken off the ailment and is now thriving at Rangers. The 18-year-old has been a revelation for the Gers, notching six goals and two assists in 27 league games.
He has also created seven big chances and averages 1.2 key passes per 90 minutes.
His performances have won over the supporters who are already calling on the club to make his loan move permanent.
Reflecting on the frustrating setback, Moore has now opened up on the specifics of the situation that kept him out for a chunk of the campaign.
“I was playing really well and started to find my feet in the first team just before the Galatasaray game,” Moore said (via Football.London).
“I trained two days before it and I was set to start or make an appearance in that game. I went for a driving lesson at the time that night and all of a sudden I felt a bit of pain in my chest.
“The doctor called me in and said to forget about football for now. It came back that I had myocarditis, which is a virus that went to the heart and gave me the pains in my heart.
“I was lucky that I caught it early because I am not sure what could have happened after that and whether it could have caused extra things.”
Tottenham have no plans of letting Moore leave the club this summer.
New manager Roberto De Zerbi is expected to take a look at the talented teenager this summer before a decision is made regarding his long-term development.