Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur is expected to be sidelined for at least the next three months after suffering a hamstring injury that requires surgery. The 28-year-old midfielder was injured in Spurs’ defeat to Bournemouth last week, moments before Antoine Semenyo scored the winning goal for the home side.
The Uruguayan currently faces surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation period, which will likely keep him out for most of the remainder of the season. Bentancur has flourished under manager Thomas Frank, starting every one of Tottenham’s Premier League games and every Champions League game this season, making a total of 28 appearances. He was scheduled to complete his fourth full game in 11 days when he injured his hamstring.
The former Juventus player has missed nearly nine months of Tottenham’s 2022/23 season due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which is set to be the second longest absence of his career. Bentancur hopes to return in time for the final months of the Premier League season and get back into the game ahead of Uruguay’s World Cup in the summer.
Despite receiving a lucrative long-term contract from Spurs in October, Bentancur joins a growing list of injured players who are currently sidelined by Franck.
The Danes lost summer signing Mohamed Kudus for £55m by April due to a quadriceps problem, while Richarlison was forced to leave the pitch in the first half of Saturday’s FA Cup defeat at home to Aston Villa with a hamstring problem.
Frank only recently brought Dominic Solanke back into the squad after nearly five months out with an ankle injury, but James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski remain in the treatment room as long-term injuries.
Spurs are already considering adding another midfielder and this has become a priority after the latest injury, with Lukas Bergvall missing the cup defeat to Villa at Bournemouth after apparently re-injuring his groin.
Currently, Archie Gray and Joao Parinha are the only central midfielders suitable for Spurs, with Yves Bissouma, who is on his way home from the African Cup of Nations following his departure from Mali and whose contract is due to expire due to poor reviews, and Papu Matar Sarr still in Senegal.
According to Football London, long-term target Conor Gallagher is thought to be a potential midfield target, but Spurs will face stiff competition from highly-rated Villa to sign the 25-year-old England international, who has struggled for regular time at Atletico Madrid this season.
