It has been a difficult campaign for Tottenham Hotspur when it comes to injuries this season.
The Lilywhites have been beset by injuries, with the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski not able to play a single minute so far in the 2025/26 campaign.
Mohammed Kudus, Wilson Odobert and Ben Davies saw their seasons cut short by injuries too, with there being a number of other long-term absentees on the sidelines too.
One Player Returning Is A Rare Bright Light For Tottenham
But after watching Kudus suffer a setback in his recovery days after Roberto De Zerbi joined the club and seeing club captain Cristian Romero hobble off in his first game in charge, the new Italian boss has been handed a timely boost this week, with the news that long-term injured midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has returned to first-team training ahead of the game with Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
The Uruguayan has not played for Spurs since picking up a hamstring injury in the defeat to Bournemouth at the beginning of January, leaving Spurs very light in the central midfield department. And Tottenham have not won a match in the Premier League since he has been out of action.
Bentancur was generally the first choice option in the middle of the pitch under Thomas Frank until his injury and would be a welcome return for new boss De Zerbi as they look to get themselves out of trouble at the bottom of the Premier League table.
The 28-year-old was never expected to be out for the rest of the season when he picked up the injury in January and he looks set to return to action in a timely boost to De Zerbi.
De Zerbi's Former Club Could Stick The Knife In
Speaking last week, ahead of the Sunderland game, De Zerbi said: "Vicario is not ready for this game. I hope he comes back earlier next week, but I don't know yet. Bentancur is working with us, but not completely, but we are enough to fight, to play and to make points."
Spurs take on De Zerbi's former club Brighton & Hove Albion in their next match at 5.30pm on Saturday evening, knowing they need a win to move out of the relegation zone.
Spurs slipped into the bottom three in the standings after West Ham beat Wolves on Friday night and De Zerbi's side could not pick up a result against Sunderland to move back out of the danger zone.