Injury-plagued Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has revealed that he has been playing through the pain of a broken bone in recent matches.
The former Juventus man was an instant hit in North London upon his arrival in January 2022, where he was one of two ex-Bianconeri players to leave for Tottenham alongside Dejan Kulusevski.
Bentancur's performances in the middle of the park helped Tottenham return to the Champions League under Antonio Conte, under whom he would regularly partner Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in a midfield duo.
However, a devastating ACL injury cut Bentancur's 2022-23 season short, and he spent eight months in the infirmary before making his return to Premier League action at the end of October.
The Uruguay international was dealt another cruel setback after just four top-flight outings, tearing ligaments in his ankle during a home defeat to Aston Villa, although he has since been at Ange Postecoglou's disposal for the entirety of 2024.
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In Bentancur's absence, Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma have joined forces effectively in the engine room, although the South American did start in the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on March 2 before coming off the bench against Aston Villa and Fulham.
The 26-year-old was also called up for Uruguay's March fixtures against the Basque Country and Ivory Coast - earning his 57th cap against the former as a second-half substitute - but he has now made an alarming injury admission to local media.
Speaking to Uruguayan media outlet Teledoce - as quoted by football.london - Bentancur revealed that he had broken his little toe in a training session before the win over Crystal Palace, but it "wasn't possible" for him to take the time off to let the fracture recover.
The midfielder admitted that once he was in the zone during his warm-up, he 'forgets' about his broken bone, saying: "The truth is that now the ankle is fine, luckily the knee has recovered, nothing to speak of other than just one broken toe.
"I broke the little toe of the left foot two or three weeks ago, but this one I'm still playing the same. I broke one of my phalanx and I would have had to stop for three or four weeks so that it could heal but it wasn't possible.
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"It was before the Crystal Palace match in London in a training session with a team-mate, but it's almost there. I'm playing with my toe recovering but the truth is that once I warm up I forget it. I did not want to stop, so I'm fine and feeling good 100%."
Bentancur is therefore expected to be fine for Uruguay's upcoming friendly versus Africa Cup of Nations winners Ivory Coast on Tuesday, before returning to North London in time for Tottenham's showdown with Luton Town on Saturday.
The former Juventus man has scored once in 15 appearances this season to take his total for Tottenham to seven goals in 59 games across all tournaments, in addition to providing six assists.
Tottenham's 3-0 loss to Fulham before the international break meant that Ange Postecoglou's men missed the chance to rise into the Champions League spots over Aston Villa, and they remain fifth in the Premier League table with 10 games to go, albeit just three points behind Villa with a match in hand.
Ben Knapton
