Tottenham Hotspur and Brazil forward Richarlison should be available for selection ahead of the World Cup, despite fears that injury may rule him out of the tournament.
That is according to both Spurs manager Antonio Conte and injury expert Ben Dinnery, with the latter speaking on Monday evening’s FPL injuries update.
Richarlison suffered a calf problem in Tottenham’s 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday evening, allaying fears that he may be unavailable for selection for the World Cup.
However, the injury is not thought to be particularly long-term and the Brazilian himself has tweeted following an injury update and has revealed that he is likely to be back in action in two weeks.
And Dinnery has completely dispelled any fears about the £60m summer signing’s lack of participation in November’s World Cup.
“We’ve seen that calf problem for Richarlison,” Dinnery told FPL injuries (04:43).
“Initially he reported after the game that it felt like an issue similar to the one that he picked up for Everton that kept him out for a roundabout 34 days towards the back end of December, early part of this year.
“He’s having an MRI as it currently stands, so we don’t know the full extent of the problem.
“There were concerns or worries that it would affect his availability for the World Cup.
“However, Antonio Conte has been keen to stress that that isn’t the case. It’s more of a minor strain in terms of the severity.
“We’re just waiting to find out how long it will actually keep him out, but I’d certainly like to say his World Cup place is definitely not under threat.”
TIF Thoughts on Dinnery’s comments…
We think that both Spurs and Brazil fans will be relieved to hear that Richarlison’s injury is not as serious as initially feared, and that he will be raring to get back into the thick of it in just a few weeks time.
The 25-year-old has scored two goals and provided three assists in 13 appearances for the Lilywhites this season according to Transfermarkt, though his gametime has been mixed to say the least.
But we think that he is still an extremely useful addition for Conte’s side, and he will be thankful that Richarlison will be available for selection in just a few weeks, rather than a few months.