Almost six weeks on from their Tottenham loan exits, Fabio Paratici will no doubt already have his concerns about Sergio Reguilon and Harry Winks. Two of four players who were told they were no longer in Antonio Conte's Spurs plans for the 2022/23 campaign, both departed north London at the end of the summer transfer window.
With permanent moves unfortunately not coming to fruition, Reguilon returned to Madrid to link up with Atletico on a season-long loan deal and Winks headed to Italian side Sampdoria on similar terms. Now approaching the midway point in October, both players have yet to make an appearance for their respective clubs this season.
An extremely frustrating time for both as they look to kick on and really make an impression for their new teams, it actually won't be long at all until domestic football goes on pause for the World Cup. While there are still plenty of games to be played between now and then, the duo need to return sooner rather than later if they are to get some good minutes in the tank before everyone stops to watch the world's biggest tournament in Qatar.
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In the case of Reguilon, the left-back has not played a single minute since Tottenham's 1-0 defeat at home to Brighton on Easter weekend. Named in the squad the following week at Brentford, the Spaniard dropped down to the bench as he was suffering with groin pain but he was available if required.
Unavailable for their final five league games after the 0-0 draw in west London due to the problem, Reguilon is still trying to recover from the injury and get his Atletico career up and running. Atleti did confirm in their official statement after signing the 25-year-old at the end of August that he did undergo pubalgia surgery a week prior to his move to the Spanish capital.
Yet to be involved in a matchday squad for Diego Simeone's men so far as he instead works on his fitness, Madrid-based publication AS confirmed on Monday morning that Reguilon was once again absent from the team's training session ahead of their Champions League tie against Club Brugge. Needing to get back to full fitness and then recover his match sharpness, the left-back and Atleti have a further eight games to come after their European encounter before La Liga comes to an abrupt stop.
Winks also finds himself in a similar boat to Reguilon at present. Joining Sampdoria on a season-long loan with the Serie A club having the option to buy him permanently, the midfielder has yet to feature in a matchday squad due to injury.
According to Calciomercato, the Italian website reported last month that he is suffering with an ankle injury and that he is also not there in terms of his physical condition. Sampdoria do publish regular training updates on their official club website and Winks' name continues to be down as an absent player as he works away from the rest of the squad.
Not exactly a good position for him to be in at present, the 26-year-old also now has a new head coach to work under after Dejan Stankovic was named in the hotseat after Marco Giampaolo was dismissed a week ago. Such a key time for all players as they look to make a big impression on their new boss in his first few days in charge, Winks was one of two players absent from his first training session.
Not only is the midfielder desperate to get back to fitness, Sampdoria also need him back on the pitch as soon as possible as they sit bottom of Serie A after nine games following three draws and six defeats. The Genoa-based club have seven matches to go before it's time for the World Cup and their summer addition has to return on the pitch before then.
Although not part of Conte's Tottenham squad this term, Paratici will still have one eye on both players as they are due to return to Hotspur Way next summer once their loan deals expire. Not in the head coach's thoughts going forward and needing to move on elsewhere permanently for the sake of their careers, both must have successful seasons for that to become a reality.
A year of struggles and it will be harder to part with the duo permanently, whereas good seasons could see clubs looking to snap them up on long-term contracts. Key to that of course will be pitch time, something both have yet to do at their respective new clubs.
What Tottenham need is for their players to be regulars and playing week in, week out going into the second part of the campaign rather than having played limited minutes or not featured at all. There's still plenty of time for both to be major hits for their clubs in 2022/23 but it could be next year when they really make their mark with the World Cup on the horizon.
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