Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has successfully undergone ACL surgery and is expected to be out for nine months.
The Uruguay international suffered his season-ending injury in Tottenham’s defeat to Leicester City on February 11, scoring Tottenham’s only goal before coming off on the 65-minute mark.
Scans later showed a serious ACL rupture, ruling him out for the rest of the season and dealing a major blow to manager Antonio Conte.
Bentancur has been one of Conte’s standout players since joining from Juventus in January, and his recent operation was a success, according to football.london.
According to the report, the 25-year-old underwent the operation in Spain and was unable to go under the knife until the swelling had subsided for several weeks.
Bentancur will now begin his extended recuperation process, and in the best-case scenario, the midfielder could return in seven months and so resume Premier League play in September.
However, a nine-month timeframe is more plausible, putting the South American on track for a return in November, and even then, he would be gradually integrated back into the team.
Bentancur quickly established himself as a first-team starter for Conte following his arrival last year, and he currently has six goals and six assists from 44 games in a Lilywhites jersey.
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Bentancur is one of four long-term injury problems for the Lilywhites, who are also dealing with the long-term absences of Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon, and Yves Bissouma.
Bissouma would have been the first pick to fill in for Bentancur alongside Hojbjerg, but the Mali international had to undergo surgery earlier this month for a stress fracture in his ankle.
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