Tottenham captain Ledley King is confident of an injury-free season ahead.
"I'm going into it quite confident it will happen," he said.
"You never know how it is going to react but hopefully, touch wood, I will be able to do that."
King has suffered injury frustration for two years, with his original problem being the metatarsal complaint which ruled him out of England's 2006 World Cup campaign.
He underwent a knee operation that summer and another after the following season, with a by-product of surgery being inflammation to the joint as he recovered from games.
After suffering problems with both of his feet and also a slight hip complaint, there was a whispering campaign that King's body could not face football at the highest level - something the centre-back always denied and worked towards proving wrong.
He said: "It's been tough. The toughest part of my career so far, definitely.
"Obviously there are rumours and everything, there were times that it did get on top of me. You have your friends and family and you need those people around you to keep you going."
