Rodrigo Bentancur is back in contention for Tottenham [Credit: Imago]
Rodrigo Bentancur is back in contention for Tottenham [Credit: Imago]

Rodrigo Bentancur return is yet another miss ahead of Tottenham v Wolves

Jonathan Burnett

Jonny is a University of Leeds journalism graduate who became part of the FootballInsider team in Spring 2024, and recently worked as Head of Media for Widnes Vikings Rugby League club. Writing as a freelance reporter and commentator for The Sporting News and StatsPerform, he has covered matches in competitions including the FIFA Men's and Women's World Cups, as well as the Champions League, Women's Euro 2022, Six Nations and the Rugby Union World Cup.

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Tottenham may only pick Rodrigo Bentancur against Wolves by default after his underwhelming return against Nottingham Forest.

Bentancur made his first Premier League appearance since 10 November on Boxing Day at the City Ground following a seven-match domestic FA ban recently, as Spurs limped to a 1-0 defeat.

The Uruguayan was hooked for Lucas Bergvall 64 minutes into his long-awaited return, and it remains to be seen if Ange Postecoglou retains faith in Bentancur for the visit of Wolves on 29 December.

Rodrigo Bentancur must get back to his best in Tottenham v Wolves

Losing Bentancur for seven matches, on top of a spate of injuries all over the pitch, has proven to be a bitter blow for Postecoglou, with the Lilywhites' inconsistency going into overdrive during his absence.

Against Forest, however, the Uruguayan's return didn't have the desired effect, winning just 25 per cent of his ground duels as Morgan Gibbs-White waltzed through midfield on several occasions [FotMob].

Bentancur contested 10 duels in total across his 64 minutes, winning just four, with only 50 per cent of his aerial battles coming off and just two defensive actions attempted despite his deep-lying role.

Tottenham
Rodrigo Bentancur has missed Tottenham's last seven Premier League matches following an FA ban

Of those two, Bentancur failed to win a single tackle (zero per cent – FotMob), being dispossessed and dribbled past twice despite recovering the ball eight times – albeit none of these were interceptions.

The 27-year-old did play five of his 48 attempted passes into the final third, yet produced an expected assists rate of just 0.03 in a Spurs display which was equally ineffective at both ends.

More is expected against Wolves – namely a second win in seven – and Postecoglou will be hoping that Bentancur is back to his best as soon as possible.

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