Sat 28 October 2023, 16:00
Tottenham HotspurRodrigo Bentancur left a heartfelt message to our supporters after returning to action for the first time in over eight months in our victory over Crystal Palace last night (27 October).
After sustaining a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at Leicester City on 11 February, the midfielder's inclusion in the matchday squad was a huge boost ahead of kick-off and made his comeback in the closing stages as we secured a 2-1 win at Selhurst Park.
A key player since his move from Juventus, there was a lovely moment as 'Lolo' received a caring pep talk from Ange Postecoglou before coming on for Dejan Kulusevski, who met his former Juve teammate with a warm embrace, on 90 minutes with the scoreline at 2-0 to huge applause from our travelling supporters in south London.
It was a memorable night for Rodrigo who then almost marked his comeback with a goal barely a minute later, but earlier goals courtesy of Joel Ward's own goal and Heung-Min Son's eighth of the campaign were enough to earn us the three points despite a late scare when Jordan Ayew scored midway through the eight minutes of second-half stoppage time.
In a night full of headlines as we extended our unbeaten start under Ange to 10 matches and moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League, the Uruguay international's involvement was a significant story given his importance and popularity at the Club which was clear to see in the post-match scenes when he was mobbed by teammates and received appreciation from our adoring fans.
It has been a long road to recovery for the 26-year-old who has missed 28 games since his injury but the support and love shown throughout his rehabilitation has helped him come back stronger, taking to his Instagram to say: "The recovery process has been very long and difficult but thanks to the support of my amazing family, my friends, the club and the fans, I’m finally back and I couldn’t be happier.
"Yesterday it was a special day for me and now I just want to enjoy football, give my best and help my team-mates who have been by my side every day and have been doing a fantastic job in this first part of the season.
"Thank you all ❤️"
View this post on Instagram
There was more from the Uruguay international on social media, posting a video to show his appreciation to our supporters: "Hi all, how are you Spurs fans?"
"Thank you for your support today after I was away for so long. I'm very happy to come back after all this this time."
"We're on the right path and I hope to give my all. A big hug to everyone and thanks to everyone."
One new message from Rodrigo! 📥
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 27, 2023
🤳 @HPE pic.twitter.com/118SWBvDNE
