Tottenham injury news as 12 miss Man City with Bentancur and Bissouma update
Tottenham injury news as Rodrigo Bentancur suffers another blow during the defeat against Aston Villa with Ange Postecoglou issues getting worse
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Rodrigo Bentancur was forced off injured for Tottenham (Image: Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
When it’s going against you, it really does go against you. Ange Postecoglou already knows this, naturally, but it will do little to ease the pain of a third straight defeat for Tottenham.
His Spurs side, under circumstances that baffle, have now taken the lead in each of their last three games but gone on to lose in increasingly bewildering style. Be it the chaos of going down to 10 men and then nine against Chelsea, the late punishment on offer at Molineux or being stripped of their midfield hope after a positive start on Sunday when Aston Villa came to town, it just isn’t going for them.
Tottenham had played some of the best football on show this season in the opening half an hour in north London but somehow only found themselves one goal to the good. Rodrigo Bentancur was central to the slick performances, starting his first game for the club in nine months, but was forced off before his impact could truly be felt.
That made it 12 players Postecoglou was working without at that stage in the game. Many had doubts over just how the squad would hold up in the face of mild adversity let alone this.
In the past three games there have been three new players suspended, three more ruled out with injury – some longer than others – and that adds on to the absence of Ivan Perisic, Manor Solomon and Ryan Sessegnon for the foreseeable future too. Pape Matar Sarr missed out on the matchday squad having picked up an issue in the build-up to the game whilst summer signing Ashley Phillips faces a while out himself after getting a knock when away with England Under-21s.
These are already piled on top of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven being ruled out until 2024 at least. Cristian Romero was suspended, serving the second match of his ban, and Yves Bissouma had the same fate due to an accumulation of yellow cards. The very essence of the squad was missing and then things just got worse.
Bentancur was forced off after being on the end of a rough tackle from Matty Cash. He tried to run it off following some medical attention but lasted barely a minute before going down again. “Yeah, not sure,” Postecoglou said after the game. “It is his ankle I think. It wasn’t a great tackle.
“I thought he started the game so well and I think it was the reason we got a real good foothold on the game. He’s such a creative player. It’s the last thing we needed, another injury. So disappointed to lose him but we’re yet to see the extent of it.”
The Australian is already planning for being without the Uruguayan against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium next week too. “We’ll get Biss [Bissouma] back for next week but we might have lost Bentancur,” he added when speaking about his midfield options and Giovani Lo Celso’s role in matters.
Meanwhile Richarlison continues to recover from his pelvic surgery with hope that he will be ready to come back before Christmas. Alfie Whiteman is still out as well.
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