Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury.
The 25-year-old has emerged as one of the club's most important players this campaign, making 23 starts and one substitute outing in the Premier League and Champions League.
With Yves Bissouma having recently undergone ankle surgery, Antonio Conte was going to be heavily reliant on the Uruguay international and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for an important period of the campaign.
However, Bentancur was left inconsolable after suffering a knee injury in the second half of Spurs' 4-1 defeat at Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.
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Although Bentancur initially attempted to play on, it soon became apparent that he would need to be withdrawn from the game at the King Power Stadium.
While Spurs are yet to confirm the severity of the injury, numerous outlets and journalists have reported that Bentancur has sustained a cruciate ligament injury.
The latest midfield blow to Spurs comes just three days before the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with AC Milan at San Siro.
Pape Sarr and Oliver Skipp are currently deemed to be the most likely alternatives to the former Juventus man for that fixture.
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Sarr, who represented Senegal at the World Cup, has made just two starts and three substitute outings in all competitions this season.
Meanwhile, Skipp has been limited to just five starts and eight substitute outings, and he remained as an unused replacement on Saturday.
Another option for Conte is moving Eric Dier into a central midfield spot with Spurs possessing more like-minded replacements for the back three.
Despite Conte's and Dier's preference being for the England international to play in the middle of that trio, the 29-year-old has made 27 starts in the top flight and Europe where Spurs have often under-performed in defence.
Darren Plant
