Tottenham have suffered another blow as their dismal luck with injuries continues.
Ange Postecoglou had hoped his squad's woes were starting to ease with Rodrigo Bentancur and Destiny Udogie fit to start against Aston Villa, but the former's comeback was cut short with an ankle injury.
Spurs have had a bad diagnosis confirmed, while fellow midfielder Pape Sarr needs to shake off a knock. Micky van de Ven and James Maddison continue to nurse long-term injuries and Richarlison faces a few more weeks out after going under the knife to solve a long-standing groin issue.
With the problems mounting, here’s a look at the latest Tottenham injuries...
Rodrigo Bentancur
The midfielder was making his first start since injury his ACL in February and was the best player on the pitch until Matty Cash's robust tackle midway through the first half ended his comeback early.
Bentancur tried to continue, but soon signaled to come off, and was seen limping as he left the stadium after the game. He underwent scans on the damage on Tuesday at Hotspur Way, which confirmed an absence for the next ten weeks.
Postecoglou said after the game: "It’s his ankle, I think. It wasn’t a great tackle. I thought he started the game so well. That’s the last thing we need — another injury. We’ve got eight [players injured], Bentancur nine. We lost Ashley Phillips in the week as well. It’s just the situation we’re in at the minute."
Potential return date: February 2024
Pape Sarr
Pape Matar Sarr was deemed not fit enough to face Aston Villa after suffering a muscle injury while with Senegal during the international break.
Postecoglou said before the loss to Aston Villa: “We’re just checking on Pape Sarr, who has an issue coming back from the international team as well. We’ll see how he is tomorrow as he didn’t train today."
He missed training on Friday but now has a week to be fit to face Manchester City at the weekend.
Potential return date: Sunday, December 3, 2023 vs Manchester City
Micky van de Ven
Micky van de Ven fantastic start to life at Spurs has been halted by a serious hamstring injury, suffered during the defeat to Chelsea.
The centre-back pulled up while chasing the ball and is not expected back until the new year.
Van de Ven caused excitement in the Spurs fanbase with a cryptic Instagram post last week - posting a picture of himself in a Spurs shirt with an hourglass emoji - but his return timeline is understood to have not improved.
Potential return date: January 2024
James Maddison
Influential midfielder James Maddison has vowed to come back “better and stronger” following an ankle injury sustained against Chelsea.
He is expected to be sidelined until January in a huge blow to Spurs, and his absence was felt in the late loss at Wolves last time out.
"Madders is a lot worse than we first thought, it was bad the next day. Again into the New Year with him”, the Spurs boss admitted before the international break.
Potential return date: January 2024
Richarlison
Spurs have confirmed the Brazilian went under the knife to fix a groin issue and will return to training “in the coming weeks”.
"We can confirm that Richarlison has undergone groin surgery today,” a club statement read.
"The Brazil international will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately, before returning to training in the coming weeks."
Potential return date: December 2023
Ryan Sessegnon
Ryan Sessegnon has only just returned to light training after hamstring surgery during the summer.
Postecoglou said last month: "Sess is still a fair bit of time away; he's longer-term."
Potential return date: December 2023
Manor Solomon
Forward Manor Solomon had surgery on a knee issue picked up in training and is expected back in December.
Potential return date: December 2023
Ivan Perisic
Ivan Perisic seems unlikely to play for Spurs again after he sustained a long-term injury before the season started.
