Andros Townsend Injury: Updates on Tottenham Star's Ankle and Return

Updates from Monday, June 23

Andros Townsend is on the road to recovery as he seeks to regain full fitness ahead of Tottenham's 2014-15 campaign.

Townsend, who was forced out of the World Cup with an ankle injury, tweeted the following picture on Monday:

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Tottenham and England national team winger Andros Townsend will be forced to undergo surgery after suffering an ankle injury during the club's win over Stoke City on Saturday.

Spurs made the announcement on their official site. They also noted the 22-year-old rising star would be expected to miss around 10 weeks due to the ailment:

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Following further examination and consultation, Andros Townsend is to undergo surgery on his left ankle on Thursday (tomorrow) after damaging ligaments during our fixture against Stoke City last Saturday.

The injury is likely to sideline the young winger for up to 10 weeks.

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Unfortunately for Townsend, the injury is likely going to cost him a chance to make the Three Lions' final World Cup squad. The timeline puts him on track for a return in the middle of July, which is when the tournament is scheduled to end.

The talented winger helped provide a spark to the England attack during the latter stages of the qualification process. His presence ensured the national team would be heading to Brazil, but now, it appears he won't be on the plane to South America.

Whether he would have been selected if healthy is up for debate. His strong performances for the Three Lions are fresh in Roy Hodgson's mind. He wasn't able to carry that form over to club play with Tottenham, however.

Darren Lewis of The Mirror passed along preinjury comments from the Spurs star, who said he was working to elevate his level of play after watching other roster contenders shine:

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I've been watching games and seeing everyone doing well but that just gives me an incentive to come back and to play even better than I was before.

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Townsend finishes his first campaign as a major contributor for Spurs with one goal in 25 league appearances, 13 of which came as a substitute. There were flashes of tremendous potential, but he's still in the development process when it comes to facing elite competition.

Now, barring an unexpectedly quick recovery following surgery, Townsend won't be a factor again until next season. At his age, the bright side is that he should have plenty of chances to represent England at the national level in the future.