Sky Sports contributor, Ben Dinnery, believes Tottenham Hotspur star wing-back, Ivan Persisic, could start on the bench this week after picking up a slight knock during the side’s win against Wolves.
Spurs have started the season in incredible form, sitting fourth in the table and unbeaten through their first three games after they splashed the cash in the summer transfer window, bringing in various stars to improve the squad.
One player who has adapted to life in the Premier League quickly is Perisic, who has picked up two assists in his first three games and has proved himself to be an important member of the team already.
However, Spurs fans will not be happy to hear that the 33-year-old could be sidelined against Nottingham Forest this weekend after he was spotted limping, with Dinnery claiming he could be a victim of rotation as Ryan Sessegnon has also impressed.
Dinnery said on the Premier FPL Injuries YouTube channel,”[Ivan] Perisic was appeared to be limping towards the end of last week’s game. Now it didn’t appear to be the same issue that troubled him from his time at Inter Milan, that calf problem, he noted it was the other leg and a little bit higher up. Of course, we haven’t had anything official from the club but we’re coming into a back-to-back game week.
“And Perisic may be one of those players, particularly with Ryan Sessegnon being fit and playing so well as he did at the start of the season, you know, there’s possibility of rotation risks there”. (7:02)
TIF Thoughts on Dinnery’s comments…
While losing a player of Perisic’s talent and importance to the side will surely worry Spurs fans, especially considering his recent injury history, they have a great backup in Sessegnon, who impressed during the side’s opener against Southampton.
The 22-year-old winger has picked up one goal in his three appearances so far and is currently ranking in the 98th percentile for expected goals assisted, 95th for blocks and 93rd for progressive passes received, compared to other fullbacks in Europe’s top five leagues. He was also the best rated performer vs Wolves.
Perisic was bought in to add experience and quality at the full-back position and while potentially losing him to injury isn’t what the fans want, it is evident Sessegnon is learning from the Croatian and his good allows Perisic to fully recover before returning.
We will have to wait and see what Antonio Conte says prior to the game.