There was a major scare for Tottenham Hotspur, and their overall community yesterday, as midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur had to be stretchered off during the first half of their 1-0 win over Liverpool last night. Bentancur collapsed on the pitch and lost consciousness during the first leg of their EFL Cup semifinal tie. Later on, a statement from Tottenham indicated that Bentancur was “conscious, talking and will go to hospital for further checks.”
Thursday brought an even more positive update, with Bentancur taking to social media to post a photo of himself, with the message: “All good, guys! Thank you for the messages!!! Congratulations for the victory boys!!!”
FA Cup 3rd Round FYIs
Tottenham Hotspur vs Tamworth
Kickoff: Sun. Jan. 12, 12:30pm, Tamford, Stratfordshire, UK
Tottenham Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Fun Fact: This is just the second FA Cup tie ever against a top flight side for Tamworth. Their first was a loss to David Moyes’ Everton in 2011-12.
Spurs Team News
So the overall big picture sounds better for Bentancur, but he will obviously not feature on Sunday at Tamworth. Not much detail, about the specific condition that afflicts Bentancur, is out there right now. Shifting gears to Fraser Forster, the backup goalkeeper is still battling an unspecified illness, and is doubtful for this one.
He probably shouldn’t be risked against a side from the National League anyway.
Finally, Richarlison remains out, long-term, but Ange Postecoglu gave an update on the Brazilian yesterday, saying:
“With what happened before, the whole plan for him was to get a solid couple of weeks of training, and next week should be his second week.”
So he could feature towards the end of this month.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.