Ange Postecoglou has admitted that the Tottenham players are distraught for Rodrigo Bentancur, revealing that the Uruguayan is a popular figure in the dressing room.
Spurs fans waited a long time to see Bentancur back in action after the midfielder picked up an ACL injury back in April.
The Uruguayan made his first start for Spurs since that injury against Aston Villa on Sunday and it felt like he had never been away as he dictated proceedings for the first 30 minutes.
However, disaster then struck for Bentancur and Spurs as the midfielder had to be withdrawn after he was on the receiving end of a nasty tackle from Matty Cash, with scans showing that he had torn his ligament, an injury which is expected to sideline him for another two months (Sami Mokbel).
The development not only comes as a bitter blow to the former Juventus man but also to Ange Postecoglou, who is now dealing with an alarmingly long injury list.
ENFIELD, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 10: Rodrigo Bentancur of Tottenham Hotspur looks on during the Tottenham Hotspur training session at Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre on November 10, 2022 in Enfield, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
The Tottenham head coach was quite philosophical about Bentacnur’s bad luck, stating that it should give perspective to other players on how lucky they are to be on the training ground every day.
When asked if the news about the midfielder has impacted the whole squad, the Australian told Football.London: “Yeah, I think it does [impact the whole squad]. It’s not just that he’s a popular guy, they know what he’s gone through. They live it and breathe it.
“They see … even a guy like Ryan Sessegnon, what he’s gone through on a daily basis. It’s a constant reminder to all the players that, you know, it’s sometimes a fickle world that they live in where you can do everything right and still fate will points its finger at you and make things difficult.
“It’s why every time they are out there training I expect them, even on a cold day like this, to be training with a smile on their face because there is an alternative to it and they’ve got guys living and breathing that.
“But they are a pretty close group, they certainly have become close in recent times and they all felt it, you could see it on the day, the game, they really felt for what he went through and quite emotional about it. But his demeanour helps because he’s such a positive guy. They know he’s going to be back.”
There has been a lot said about Cash’s tackle over the last week, with some even suggesting that the Villa star should be retrospectively suspended (talkSPORT).
When asked about the feeling at Spurs about the Poland international’s challenge, Postecoglou said: “Nothing has really changed. I said after the game I didn’t think it was a great tackle but you let the referees and the officials deal with that. From our perspective, it was dealt with on the day.”
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Bentancur would have essentially missed a full year of football when he is back from the ankle injury.
It is a big setback to his career, right at the time when the midfielder appeared to be on the cusp of taking his game to a different level and being recognised as one of the best in the Premier League in his position.
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