View: Ange has cause for concern after what happened to 73% Tottenham ace y'day

Rodrigo Bentancur picking up a costly injury in Uruguay’s 1-0 defeat to Colombia will be causing concern for Ange Postecoglou.

The Spurs midfielder was withdrawn just 34 minutes into La Celeste’s 2024 Copa America semi-final in the United States, having suffered a blow to the leg in a collision with team-mate Matias Olivera 10 minutes prior.

Jefferson Lerma scored the winner for Colombia barely five minutes later, and the challenges continued to fly in at pace with eight yellow cards brandished, two of which were shown to Daniel Munoz.

Bentancur made his return from ACL surgery towards the end of last season, making 15 starts and 10 substitute appearances overall, and Postecoglou will hope this latest injury doesn’t prove to be another lengthy setback for the Uruguayan.

Tottenham star Rodrigo Bentancur huge miss in Uruguay defeat

Operating further forward than his usual role at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Bentancur started as one of two attacking midfielders in a 3-2-4-1 formation for Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay side.

However, that start was cut short to just 34 minutes, 10 of which came in the wake of that injury which will be worrying Postecoglou.

The 27-year-old hardly put a foot wrong before going off, winning all five ground duels he contested as well as another in the air, and winning a free-kick in the process, in stats provided by SofaScore.

Bentancur completed 73 per cent of his 15 attempted passes, and despite playing in a more advanced role still managed to put in three tackles as well as an interception.

The control Bentancur exerted on the game for Uruguay was lost as soon as he left the field though, conceding five minutes later and being unable to find a way back as anarchy took over.

Given his defensive numbers and success on the ball showcased his importance for Bielsa’s side, Postecoglou will be hoping Bentancur can return to training in North London as soon as possible.

That’s because despite his limited game-time last season, Bentancur was still hugely effective for the Lilywhites last season, belying SofaScore’s average rating of 6.81.

Averaging 43 touches per 90 and a passing accuracy of 86 per cent in a deep midfield role for Spurs, Bentancur also plays 0.3 key passes per match and 0.8 shots per game in lilywhite.

The Uruguayan must cut down on his 7.4 losses of possession per game and seven overall yellow cards, but given he recovers 2.3 balls per 90 and puts in a combined 3.4 tackles, interceptions and clearances, it’s hardly surprising that Postecoglou. will hope Bentancur is soon firing on all cylinders again.

In other Tottenham news, the club are preparing a bid for a Chelsea star with more behind-the-scenes tension emerging at Stamford Bridge.

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