Guglielmo Vicario said it was the best and worst day of his life.
The last time Tottenham faced Manchester City the goalkeeper produced a dominant performance - and then broke his ankle.
For City that 4-0 defeat kickstarted their dramatic slump but it also proved a pyrrhic victory for Spurs, who took just five points from their next 11 fixtures as an unprecedented injury crisis took hold.
They meet again in north London on Wednesday night with the hosts finally emerging from three months of selection hell that Vicario admits was a “challenging (period) that I’ve never had to face in my life.”
His recent return has coincided with Tottenham’s form trending upwards and Saturday’s win at Ipswich was a third on the spin in the league, their best run since December 2023.
Looking back on November’s triumph at the Etihad, Vicario says: “It was one of the best and one of the worst days of my life.
“Then of course when you stay away from the field for three months it’s always tough to get back with the good feelings to go back and replicate what you had been doing for a long time.
“But now I just want to look at the present, what I’m doing at the moment.
“I’m very happy now. We have to just keep the momentum going. It’s two wins in a row, three in the Premier League, we’re pleased with that. But how we keep things going is on us.”
Spurs’ top priority may appear to be a Europa League last-16 tie against AZ Alkmaar next month but they are also now only nine points off eighth place with a game in hand.
That spot should be good enough to get into Europe next season and with Ange Postecoglou suddenly having a squad that he can rotate and options off the bench during games, Vicario is confident they can go on a good run.
“If we have more options it’s easier for everyone. Everyone can have minutes,” he said.
“It’s important for the team, it’s important for the spirit, for the feeling we can have during the week.
“We wait for everyone back. Now is the time to make things properly. We are looking forward. We don’t put too many goals, we just try to look game by game and try to win every game of football we have to face.”
Although the time out was not a complete waste because Vicario spent a part of it reading Gianluigi Buffon’s autobiography - the World Cup winning compatriot he would love to emulate.
“He speaks about his life, about his career, how he overcame his issues,” he said. “So for this period of my life it is the perfect book to start reading, (about) my idol."