Tottenham have ruled out Rodrigo Bentancur for the rest of the season after the midfielder ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.
Bentancur went down after a collision with Nampalys Mendy during Spurs’ 4-1 hammering by Leicester City on Saturday, and although he was able to hobble off the field, Tottenham’s worst fears were confirmed.
“We can confirm that Rodrigo Bentancur has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out of action for the remainder of the campaign,” the club tweeted. “He will undergo surgery before beginning his rehabilitation with our medical staff. We’re all behind you, Rodrigo.”
The news comes after the nadir of Spurs’ season in which they were comprehensively outplayed by their hosts.
The result left Antonio Conte’s side fifth in the table, two points outside the Champions League places having played a game more than fourth-placed Newcastle United.
Conte, who himself has only just returned to the dugout following gallbladder surgery, is already without the injured midfielder Yves Bissouma and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and his options are further limited by the suspension of Bentancur’s regular partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for the upcoming Champions League knockout tie with AC Milan.
Tottenham assistant Cristian Stellini questioned Spurs’ mentality after the game.
“To be consistent is a long process, it’s a mental process, you have to be better mentally and better with the approach,” he said. “After we scored the goal, something changed.
“We struggled a lot and we are disappointed for that. There’s not an explanation because if you know what happened you can change this. It happened last season, after we beat Manchester City we lost in Burnley. We are a team, in the team something has to change, not individually. It’s about the desire.
“It’s about to recover the energy mentally. After a game against Manchester City maybe you used all the energy you had. To recover the energy is like a battle. You have to recreate the same energy.”
