Lucas Moura made a scoring return to action for Tottenham on Friday night, closely supported in hilarious fashion by team-mate and compatriot Richarlison.
The Brazilian forward has not featured at senior level for Spurs since the seven-goal thriller against Leeds on November 12, sidelined with a tendon injury that has impacted him for most of the season.
Lucas looks set to leave Tottenham this summer after the club reportedly allowed a December 31 deadline to trigger an automatic extension to his expiring contract elapse with no movement.
Though he has been linked with an early departure from north London before the January transfer window closes on Tuesday, the 30-year-old could yet play a role for Antonio Conte’s side between now and the end of the season.
Lucas made his long-awaited comeback at Meadow Park on Friday, starting and playing for 45 minutes as Tottenham’s Under-21 side scored a morale-boosting north London derby victory over their Arsenal counterparts at the home of Boreham Wood.
After Amario Cozier-Duberry had struck to give the young Gunners the lead, the former Paris Saint-Germain star fired home a swift equaliser for Wayne Burnett’s side with a first-time strike.
Lucas’ replacement, Nile John, later bagged the winning goal before being forced back off through injury. Yago Santiago and Romaine Mundle also hit the post in a deserved win for Tottenham’s youngsters that saw them rise off the bottom of the Premier League 2 table at Leicester’s expense.
Richarlison was on hand to offer fellow Brazilian Lucas some moral support on a freezing cold Friday evening in Hertfordshire, holding up a sign that read in Portuguese: “Lucas, could you give me your shirt?”
Tottenham’s senior side face Championship outfit Preston in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday evening, with Lucas obviously not involved at Deepdale as he potentially eyes some involvement against Manchester City in the Premier League next weekend.
Harry Kane is pushing to play despite a bout of illness as he seeks the goal that would see him move past the late Jimmy Greaves as Spurs’ outright all-time top scorer on 267, while new loan signing Arnaut Danjuma is also expected to make his loan debut after rejecting Everton to complete a move from Villarreal earlier this week.
