Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has revealed that he plans to return to action in "two or three months" as he steps up his recovery from a serious knee injury.
The Uruguay international has been working his way back to fitness since suffering a devastating cruciate ligament rupture in Spurs' 4-1 loss to Leicester City on February 11.
Bentancur was immediately ruled out for the remainder of the season ahead of surgery, and there were fears that the 25-year-old could have been sidelined for up to nine months.
Such a timeline would have kept Bentancur out of action until November, but the ex-Juventus man does not expect his rehabilitation to take that long and has offered a glimmer of hope that he could be back in the fold by the end of August.
However, the South American is sure to miss the first couple of weeks of next season at least, and it will still be a while before he can be considered for a starting role again.
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Speaking to Telemundo, via ESPN, Bentancur said: "The injury was at a time when I was very well, but the truth is that I do not change what happened for anything.
"I was missing a lot at the family level and everything that I am experiencing with my daughter and my girlfriend in these four months is priceless. That is also why my recovery time has passed so quickly and I am doing so well.
"It's a long injury, one of the most difficult in football, but the truth is that I'm having such a good time with my family, I train the same every day, I do double shifts two or three times a week.
"I brought the club's physiotherapist to Uruguay, we continue working and my knee is doing very well. I didn't set a lap time, but I hope in two or three months to be at least gaining a few minutes again."
Bentancur also revealed that he would not be joining Tottenham's squad for their Asia-Pacific tour in pre-season due to the negative effects that the flights could have on his knee, and he will continue his recuperation at Hotspur Way instead.
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"I am going to stay at the club doing my job because the flights also cause the knee to swell, I will be at the club and I will continue my recovery there," Bentancur added.
The midfielder has been a key cog in the Tottenham machine since arriving from Juventus in January 2022, scoring six goals and setting up six more in 44 games across all tournaments.
All of Bentancur's six goals for Tottenham came last season before his injury, including the opening goal in that 4-1 loss to Leicester, just over an hour before he suffered his rupture.
With Bentancur out of the squad, Tottenham were dumped out of the Champions League last 16 and FA Cup fifth round, while also winning just six of their final 15 Premier League fixtures under Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason.
Tottenham's first pre-season under Ange Postecoglou sees the Lilywhites meet West Ham United in Perth on July 18, before trips to Thailand and Singapore to meet Leicester (July 23) and Roma (July 26) respectively.
