Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur is now available to face Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a heavy defeat at home to league leaders Liverpool on Sunday, with Arne Slot’s side finding the back of the net six times.
Ange Postecoglou’s tactics and defensive methods have been heavily criticised, but there’s certainly an argument to suggest he’s had little luck when it comes to injuries and suspensions for his players.
Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, and Micky Van de Ven were all missing from the starting XI to face Liverpool, with the Australian tactician forced into utilising young midfielder Archie Gray in an unfamiliar centre-back role alongside Radu Dragusin. Another player who was unavailable to face the Reds at the weekend was Rodrigo Bentancur.
Rodrigo Bentancur was slapped with a seven-game domestic ban by the FA following off-field matters. The 27-year-old has left a big hole in Spurs’ midfield whilst he has been away, with Yves Bissouma failing to perform at required standards.
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The Uruguayan international is now free from suspension and should be chomping at the bits to feature for Tottenham against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Boxing Day.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday ahead of the trip to Nottingham Forest, Ange Postecoglou was asked about Rodrigo Bentancur and how big a boost is to have him back in the squad. The Spurs boss stated (h/t Football London):
“Yeah, it’s good to have him [Bentancur] back. He’s been working hard at training. In terms of Boxing Day, we’ll see. But certainly, just to have an extra body. I think what the players have had to deal with, the core group of players over the last sort of three weeks or so, has been very, very demanding on them.
“Most of them have got through it pretty well, in terms of not getting any more injuries, thankfully for us. But it’ll be nice to have just some ability to rotate some players and even make substitutions in games that hopefully will help us.”
Having Bentancur back from a lengthy suspension is a big boost for Big Ange and Spurs. The 27-year-old’s technical qualities, experience and leadership skills were sorely missed in the middle of the park, especially in the 6-3 defeat to Liverpool.
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The South American has been able to play in the Europa League during his ban as it only applied to domestic competition. The midfielder, who was a key cog in the Tottenham side before his suspension, has started seven of 10 Premier League games so far this season. He is important to the club and Big Ange’s style of play.
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If Bentancur can rediscover the form he displayed before the untimely ban, Tottenham will have a strong chance of controlling games more starting from the away game at Forest.
