Tottenham frustration as Paul O Keefe reveals return date of midfielder Giovani Lo Celso ‘still a mystery’
Ange Postecoglou will be growing increasingly frustrated with the situation involved with Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.
It is hard to blame a player for injuries but when that player is injured so frequently it also becomes difficult for their manager not to become downbeat.
Every time it looks as if Lo Celso is going to turn a corner in North London and prove his worth, he suddenly finds himself spending an extended period on the sidelines.
Across the past couple of months, a time when Lo Celso was meant to step up and become the main creative force for Postecoglou in James Maddison’s absence, the Argentina international has had two injury setbacks of his own.
He made a positive start as he looked to fill in for Maddison, scoring in back-to-back matches against Aston Villa and Manchester City, completing 100 per cent of his passes in the 3-3 draw with the latter at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday 3 December (Sofascore).
Lo Celso followed this up with a bright display in the 2-1 home defeat against West Ham (7 December), playing three key passes, hitting the woodwork and winning five of his six ground duels, and impressed during his cameo performance in the 4-1 win against Newcastle United a few days later (10 December), completing 92 per cent of his passes and making two tackles during his 17 minutes on the pitch.
Then came his first injury setback, as he was ruled out of the 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest (15 December), before seeing his form dip off slightly in his return to action.
His form picked up again in the 3-1 win against Bournemouth at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year’s Eve as he provided two assists, won 11 ground duels, completed 92 per cent of his passes and made four tackles, but the pattern continued as this resurgence in form was followed by another injury.
During yet another positive display in the 1-0 FA Cup third-round win over Burnley (5 January), in which the 27-year-old played four accurate long balls forward, succeeded with 100 per cent of his dribbles and completed 95 per cent of his passes, with one of those being key, he was replaced after 58 minutes and hasn’t been seen since.
The former Real Betis midfielder missed the 2-2 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford, and reliable Tottenham insider Paul O Keefe, who is also an FA-registered agent, has now provided an update via his official X platform (22 January) revealing that Lo Celso’s return date is “still a mystery.”
It is yet another injury blow to add to the ever-growing list in North London this season, and the update effectively rules Lo Celso out of Spurs’ FA Cup fourth-round clash with Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday 26 January.
With O Keefe also revealing that “Friday might come too soon” for Maddison, Postecoglou will need to think long and hard about how his team will provide creativity against Pep Guardiola’s side.
In other Tottenham news, Postecoglou should offer a final chance to one on-loan Spurs ace after he shone in a 100% display for his temporary side.
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