Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison has revealed that he has been dealing with a nagging injury for months, and he will undergo surgery. The Brazilian remained on the bench during his club’s chaotic 4-1 defeat at home to Chelsea on Monday. It was the first time this season that Richarlison did not feature in a match for Spurs.
After the match, the disappointed forward claimed that he found out on Sunday that he would likely not feature against the Blues. “Of course I expected to play [on Monday] as it was an important game,” Richarlison told ESPN Brazil. “Yesterday I found out that I wasn’t going to play, but it’s part of football.”
Brazil national team manager Fernando Diniz also revealed his squad ahead of two crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers this month. Richarlison was not named in the team. The South American giants will face Colombia on Nov. 16, before a massive clash with rivals Argentina five days later.
During the aforementioned interview, Richarlison hinted that he was not called up to the national team because of the injury. The forward also claimed that he would soon have to undergo surgery to fix the issue.
“The last few months haven’t been easy for me. I’ve also been suffering with my health,” claimed Richarlison. “I think I’ve already spoken to the doctors and I’ll soon have pubis surgery. I’ve been suffering for eight months, fighting, looking at the team, at the club and I didn’t look for me. I think the time has come to rest, take a break. Let’s see the next few days, soon I’ll do what’s best for me.”
Potentially losing Richarlison for a significant amount of time would be bad news for Spurs. However, the setback comes at a particularly poor time for the club. Star duo Micky van de Ven and James Maddison were both substituted during the Chelsea game on Monday.
The Dutch defender has been one of the top performers in his position since arriving from Wolfsburg in August. Despite Spurs shelling out $44 million to grab the center back, van de Ven has fit in seamlessly at the club so far. Nevertheless, the defender pulled up grabbing his hamstring during a footrace with Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson. Although it is too early to determine the severity of the setback, it certainly seems that van de Ven will miss multiple matches.
Much like the defender, Maddison has also been a key figure with his new team. The creative midfielder has been a standout player in the Premier League so far this season as well. Maddison, however, had to be substituted off of the pitch just before halftime due to an ankle injury. The midfielder suffered the knock during a duel with a Blues defender earlier in the first half.
Not only are several key players now seemingly out due to various injuries, but Spurs are already without Ivan Perisic, Manor Solomon, Ryan Sessegnon, and Ben Davies. To make matters worse, two other players were sent off in the Chelsea matchup as well. Cristian Romero will now miss multiple matches due to a dangerous tackle on Enzo Fernandez. Meanwhile, Destiny Udogie is set to be suspended for one game after receiving two yellow cards on Monday.
Spurs will next travel to face Wolves on Saturday, Nov. 11. However, they are then set for tough back-to-back fixtures against Aston Villa and reigning European champions Manchester City.
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