Tottenham Hotspur head coach Antonio Conte has told Football.London that Rodrigo Bentancur will not play against Aston Villa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Cristian Romero could start against Unai Emery’s side.
Conte has said that Bentancur, who played for Uruguay at the 2022 Qatar World Cup is injured and will have an MRI today.
The 25-year-old suffered a small tear to his adductor muscle in his right leg in Uruguay’s final World Cup game against Ghana, as reported by Football.London.
It was expected that Bentancur would be back in action against Villa after serving his suspension against Brentford, but Conte has said that the Uruguayan will not play against the Villans.
Tottenham will take on Villa in North London in the Premier League on New Year’s Day.
Antonio Conte on Cristian Romero and Rodrigo Bentancur for Tottenham v Aston Villa
Conte said: “Romero is back and he’s available for the game against Aston Villa.
“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.
“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.”
Blow for Spurs
In our view, Rodrigo Bentancur’s injury being worse than expected is a blow for Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham could not win against Brentford and actually had to come from behind to pick up a point in the London derby.
Bentancur is one of the best midfielders at Tottenham, who need him at his best during the second half of the season in their quest to finish in the Premier League top four.
It would be really worrying for Spurs if the midfielder has to spend a considering amount of time on the sidelines.
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