Ange on Bentancur’s return: “He’s a warrior”
Mon 01 January 2024, 15:45|
Tottenham Hotspur
Ange Postecoglou said Rodrigo Bentancur’s early return to action gave the whole squad a lift ahead of a fine 3-1 win over in-form Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve.
The influential midfielder suffered ankle ligament damage against Aston Villa on 26 November - his first start after an eight-month lay-off with a knee injury - and was initially expected to be out for a couple of months.
However, just over a month on and the Uruguay international was back in the line-up to face Bournemouth, a most welcome surprise for fans turning up at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when the team was announced at 2pm.
Rodrigo did what he does best, as well. With just nine minutes on the clock, he pounced on Neto’s underhit pass out from the back, won the ball, Gio Lo Celso won the second ball and that allowed Pape Matar Sarr to fire home the opening goal.
‘Lolo’ played for 58 minutes on his return as we withstood some pressure before picking off the visitors on the break for a 3-0 lead – superb finishes from Heung-Min Son and Richarlison. Alex Scott his a late consolation as we secured an important 3-1 win.
Asked about Rodrigo’s return, Ange told our Review Show: “Rodrigo trained during the week. He’s a warrior. He wanted to play. I let him train with the team and there was nothing I saw that was going to prohibit him from contributing. We knew we wouldn’t get more than 55, 60 (minutes) out of him, but it’s a lift for the whole squad because he’s a quality player, and he’s also a quality person. The group has seen what he’s gone through, and he’s never let it get him down, he works hard every day. Apart from the result, that’s the most pleasing thing for us today, he gets 60 minutes and hopefully we’ll grow from there.”
