“Selfish” Hart eager to play every game inspite of back problem

REUTERS – Goalkeeper Joe Hart says he is a “selfish” player who wants to play each and every game and that his desire to remain the first choice for Manchester City and England has driven him to play through the pain barrier.

Hart, who has played over 100 games in the last two seasons for club and country, has helped City to the top of the Premier League table after eight games and currently has the highest number of clean sheets in the league, with five so far.

The 28-year-old was outstanding in the Sky Blues’ victory over German side Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League last week, saving a penalty and producing several brilliant stops.

“I personally want to play every single game. At the moment, I am a player — a selfish player — and I just want to play. I would never think I didn’t need to play a particular game,” Hart was quoted as saying by the British media.

“I think everyone plays through something. You have to sometimes play through pain, otherwise there’s someone very talented trying to take my place,” he added.

Battling a back problem, Hart said he has to control back spasms as part of his training regime.

“That is part of my maintenance, part of me flying around and smashing off the floor every day. That’s me and every now and then it’s going to happen,” said Hart, who sat out City’s 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Sept. 26, due to the back injury.

“I’ve got fantastic staff, so it’s something we are able to keep on top of. I’m the worst watcher. It’s not me.

“It’s really, really hard work so I need to make sure I stay fit, to work hard, so I don’t need to do that more often,” he added.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)