Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has undergone successful surgery on his ACL injury and is expected to be sidelined for a period of nine months.
The Uruguay international sustained his season-ending issue in Spurs' defeat to Leicester City on February 11, scoring Tottenham's only goal before coming off on the 65-minute mark.
Scans subsequently revealed a serious ACL rupture, which would rule him out for the remainder of the season in a major blow to manager Antonio Conte.
Bentancur has been one of Conte's star performers since joining from Juventus last January, and according to football.london, his recent operation was a success.
The report states that the 25-year-old underwent the procedure in Spain, and he was unable to go under the knife until the swelling had been given a couple of weeks to subside.
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Bentancur will now begin his lengthy rehabilitation period, and in the best case scenario, the midfielder could return in seven months' time and therefore resume Premier League action in September.
However, a nine-month timeframe is more realistic, which would therefore put the South American on track for a comeback in November, and even then he would be integrated back into the team slowly.
Bentancur immediately established himself as a first-team starter for Conte upon his arrival last year, and he now has six goals and six assists to show from 44 games in a Lilywhites jersey.
The former Juventus man came up with six goals and two assists in 26 games this season prior to his surgery, having formed an effective partnership with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle.
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Bentancur represents one of four long-term injury concerns for the Lilywhites, who are also working around the absences of Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon and Yves Bissouma for the foreseeable future.
Bissouma would be the first choice to deputise for Bentancur alongside Hojbjerg, but the Mali international had to undergo his own operation for a stress fracture to his ankle earlier this month.
As a result, Oliver Skipp and Pape Sarr are battling for minutes in the starting lineup, and both men were thrown into the deep end for last week's Champions League clash against AC Milan at San Siro.
Without the suspended Hojbjerg, Tottenham fell to a 1-0 defeat, but Skipp and Sarr earned praise for their lively performances, and the former held his place in the first XI for the weekend's win over West Ham United.
Spurs, who are also working without Conte as he recovers from gallbladder surgery, rose to fourth in the Premier League table by beating West Ham and are next in action at home to Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
Ben Knapton
