Already short on attackers as things stand, Antonio Conte could find himself in a position at Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening where he is left with limited options in central midfield. It's the last thing he needs at present, especially with Tottenham struggling for form and dropping out of the top four as a result.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the New Year's Day defeat against Aston Villa, the Italian revealed that Rodrigo Bentancur was going to have an MRI scan to try and evaluate the injury he sustained on Uruguay duty at the World Cup. Always going to miss the Brentford game anyway through suspension, it looked as if the classy midfielder would be back to face Villa but that sadly wasn't to be the case.
"Rodrigo, I think we have to wait, maybe today he is going to have an MRI to try to have an evaluation about his injury," said Conte last Friday. "For sure tomorrow against Villa, he's not available. He had an injury in the World Cup and also the timing is more long than my expectation. This question is more for the medical department than me."
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Bentancur's absence in the past two matches has been felt, and Spurs' woes have only highlighted even more just how crucial he is to the side. Yves Bissouma was the man to take his place in the squad but he himself won't be available to face Crystal Palace after picking up his fifth booking of the season.
Now set to watch on from the sidelines due to his one-match suspension, one of Oliver Skipp or Pape Matar Sarr will instead partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in midfield if Bentancur is not available. As Skipp has experience of playing alongside the Dane during the first two months of Conte's reign, many will see the England Under-21 international as the player to come in.
However, you certainly cannot write off the head coach throwing Sarr in for his full Premier League debut going on his recent comments about him. Named as part of Senegal's World Cup squad and making two appearances for his country out in Qatar, the 20-year-old had two weeks to work with Conte on his return to Hotspur Way following their World Cup exit at the hands of England.
Seizing his opportunity with both hands, Sarr looked right at home in the team's friendly against Nice at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Perhaps the ideal opposition having played against them during his time in France, the midfielder showed plenty of good touches and always looked to get the ball forward when in possession.
Saying he "liked him a lot with the way he got into the pitch" when speaking to SPURSPLAY after the draw, Conte again hailed his player ahead of the Aston Villa match. He said: "To work with Pape Sarr, he played in the World Cup but then he came back two weeks before and worked with us. I think Pape Sarr is a really good prospect and I like the two weeks we worked after the World Cup with him."
Clearly catching the eye of the 53-year-old in training, Sarr was handed his Premier League bow in the closing ten minutes of the Aston Villa defeat as he replaced Bissouma in midfield. Certainly not overawed by the occasion, Sarr looked to be full of confidence and showed some very good touches in his short cameo.
Not exactly a lot of time to make an impression, the ex-Metz man was a rare positive on an otherwise dismal day for the Lilywhites. Saturday's FA Cup match at home to Portsmouth may be the ideal game for the player to potentially make his first start for the Lilywhites, but Bissouma's suspension could prompt Conte into making a bold move.
Skipp is perhaps the player more suited to taking on Crystal Palace as Spurs are going to need some experience and a presence in midfield, yet the boss could quite easily decide to play his wildcard as Tottenham try to find a way out of their current malaise. Maybe simply bringing on Sarr ahead of Skipp against Aston Villa to give him the opportunity that he has deserved after an impressive couple of weeks, Conte's midfield selection at Selhurst Park may prove rather telling in terms of the Tottenham midfield pecking order if the Senegalese ace does get the nod ahead of his teammate.
That will all depend on the outcome of Bentancur's injury, though. Tottenham desperately need their midfield maestro to return but another game without him could hand one of Sarr or Skipp their chance to shine.
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