Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a potential injury blow as Rodrigo Bentancur had to withdraw from action in Qatar.
The Spurs midfielder was representing Uruguay in their final group-stage game in Doha having been a real bright spark in an otherwise underwhelming opening couple of matches for his country.
However, as his teammates celebrated taking a two-goal lead against Ghana the 25-year-old appeared sitting on the pitch clearly in some discomfort.
And the Spurs man was clearly upset as he was subbed off there and then in the 34th minute by manager Diego Alonso.
During commentary on BBC Two for the game lead commentator, Steve Wilson said – game clock (32:50): “Bit of an injury worry here for Uruguay.”
(33:46) “Bentancur is not able to continue and Matias Vecino is coming on for the Tottenham midfielder. This is a real blow for Diego Alonso.”
TIF Thoughts on Bentancur and Tottenham…
Has Bentancur been your player of the season so far?
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While it is unclear how the £75k-per-week star sustained the injury, a couple of meaty challenges in the 30th minute may have caused a problem.
Antonio Conte will certainly be hoping that the issue is a knock as opposed to a muscle injury occurring off the ball.
Only Harry Kane (7.47) has averaged a higher-match rating in the Premier League this season than the former Juventus dynamo – 7.32 – according to WhoScored.
He has started all but one of the Lilywhites’ league fixtures that he has been available for this season.
The only one in which he didn’t saw him come off the bench to complete a dramatic turnaround against Bournemouth back in October which he scored the winning goal in the dying stages.
So this will be one to keep a close eye on in the next couple of days.