Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur faces a spell of two and a half months on the sidelines after tearing his ankle ligaments.
Bentancur was starting his first match since February in Sunday’s clash against Aston Villa after overcoming an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, but was forced off after just 32 minutes.
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The Uruguay international suffered the injury following a challenge by defender Matty Cash, which left him in visible discomfort and being forced into an early substitution.
Bentancur is now expected to be out of action until February and adds to a midfield shortage that will include Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr when they are on international duty during the African Cup of Nations in January.
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said after the game: “It’s his ankle, I think. It wasn’t a great tackle. I thought he started the game so well.
“That’s the last thing we need — another injury. We’ve got eight [players injured], Bentancur nine. We lost Ashley Phillips in the week as well. It’s just the situation we’re in at the minute.”
Bentancur adds to growing injury list at the club, with summer signings James Maddison and Micky van de Ven not expected to return to first-team action this calendar year.
Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon are also not anticipated to be available for selection for some time, while Ivan Perisic is facing a longer absence after tearing his ACL.
Richarlison is also currently unavailable but the Brazilian is expected to return to action before Christmas, Sarr is currently being monitored after missing the Aston Villa game and defender Cristian Romero will serve the third and final match of his suspension against Manchester City this weekend.
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