Rodrigo Bentancur struggles in 20% display on Tottenham return v Bournemouth despite ‘super’ verdict
Tottenham supporters will be delighted to have Rodrigo Bentancur back and available, but his performance against Bournemouth certainly demonstrated he will need some time to get back to his best.
Bentancur was a surprise inclusion in the Spurs team as Ange Postecoglou’s men beat Bournemouth 3-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year’s Eve.
After suffering an ankle injury in the 2-1 home defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday 26 November, initial reports suggested the Uruguay international midfielder would be out of action until February (BBC Sport, 28 November).
His surprise involvement was a big boost to Spurs, who have several key players out injured at the moment and need help wherever they can get it.
Speaking ahead of the match, the Australian told Spurs’ Official Website (31 December), “It’s super, he’s had a good training week with us and I had a good chat with him yesterday and he was really keen to get back.
“With all the injured lads, they’re all a bit frustrated they can’t help the team out at the moment so having him back is great, particularly after the short turnaround from the other day. Getting some fresh legs in the midfield with him and Gio (Lo Celso) will help us.”
Bentancur had only just returned from a near-nine-month spell on the sidelines after suffering an ACL injury in February when he was forced off against Villa, and it was clear from his performance against Bournemouth that he will need time and patience from Spurs supporters as he looks to shake off the rust and regain match sharpness.
The 26-year-old lasted just shy of an hour against the Cherries and struggled both in and out of possession.
As per Sofascore, he completed just 77 per cent of his passes and was unsuccessful with his one dribble attempt, as well as both of the long balls that he played forward.
In addition, he won just 20 per cent of his ground duels (one of five) and lost the one aerial duel that he contested. While he did make five clearances, one tackle and one interception, he gave possession away seven times and was dribbled past twice.
Pape Matar Sarr was forced off with an injury against Andoni Iraola’s side, with his AFCON status now up in the air, and with Yves Bissouma set to compete with Mali at the tournament, and James Maddison still unavailable due to injury, Bentancur will certainly be needed.
Hopefully for Postecoglou, Tottenham’s supporters and the player himself, he will rediscover his levels from last season sooner rather than later.
In other Tottenham news, the club are readying a player-plus-cash deal to sign a Premier League defender in January.