View: Ivan Perisic injury blow is worrying for Tottenham as creative force set for long spell on sidelines
Tottenham supporters received some troubling news as the club announced that Ivan Perisic will miss most of the season after suffering a complex Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee.
It was all going too smoothly in north London. After such a positive start to the season under Ange Postecoglou, the pessimistic Spurs fans were probably wondering when something would go wrong.
And on Wednesday 20 September, something went very wrong indeed, as the club confirmed via Twitter (20 September) that Perisic had suffered a devastating injury.
Reliable Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano offered more information on the situation, revealing via Twitter (20 September) that the 34-year-old Croatian will miss the next “five/six months” and will “work hard to be back and help Spurs in March/April.”
With Spurs’ squad already relatively thin, this is a major blow for both Postecoglou and the team. Perisic had so far been brought off the bench during every Premier League game this season, as the club started their 2023/24 campaign with four victories and a draw from five games.
According to the Premier League’s official website (20 September), the former Bayern Munich star has provided more assists since the start of last season than any of his club teammates and has also created more big chances (13). He has also created 53 chances, which rank joint-third among Spurs players, and his 209 crosses are the most.
His influence on the team will certainly be missed, with the forward demonstrating what he brings as recently as the club’s last game. With Spurs 1-0 down at home to Sheffield United, Postecoglou introduced Perisic, and he would go on to have a big impact.
He assisted the equaliser when Richarlison headed home his inswinging corner and then played one of the final passes in the build-up to Dejan Kulusevski’s winner moments later.
Even though he played just over 20 minutes, he managed to earn a match rating of 7.5, as he created one big chance, played one key pass, attempted six crosses into the box, won both of his aerial duels and made one tackle (Sofascore). There are few, if any, players in the Tottenham team with a better delivery than Perisic, and his quality will definitely be missed.
When Spurs are struggling in games, they will now need to find a new way to bring themselves back into a contest. In addition to this, his experience and leadership are both vital qualities which will now be lost and it will be interesting to see how Postecoglou adapts to life without him.
In other Tottenham news, a young forward recently made his debut for the club during an Under-21s clash.