Tottenham have been dealt a blow over Lucas Bergvall, with the midfielder suffering from an injury issue while away with the Swedish national team.
The 18-year-old joined Spurs in the summer after a transfer was agreed back in February, with the midfielder signing a five-year deal in north London. Arriving for just £8.5million, the youngster has made a promising start to life in the Premier League, with a number of bright cameo appearances after impressing in pre-season.
However, after going away on international duty, the young star has now returned to north London without playing a minute for his national team. Bergvall was among the substitutes for his side's 2-2 draw against Slovakia on Thursday, and it has now been announced that he will play no part in their next fixture due to an injury issue.
Sweden are due to take on Estonia on Monday evening, but the team have announced that Bergvall will be absent and is heading back to north London "to focus on rehabilitation" from a "minor" injury.
"Lucas Bergvall has suffered a minor injury and will not be available for tonight's game against Estonia in the Nations League," the Swedish national team said in a statement. "The midfielder has left the men's national team gathering in Estonia to focus on his rehabilitation.
"Tonight's match against Estonia will be the men's national team's second during the current session. Last Thursday there was a point in the 2-2 match against Slovakia. Monday evening awaits Estonia in Tallinn.
"Ahead of the match, it is clear that Tottenham's midfielder Lucas Bergvall will not be available for the game. He has left the collection to manage his rehabilitation in a club environment."
Bergvall will be hoping to return to action quickly in a period where Spurs games come thick and fast before the next international break in November. In the next month, the club have four Premier League games to contend with, as well as two Europa League clashes and a Carabao Cup tie at home to Manchester City.
The midfielder would have been hoping to pick up plenty of minutes during this stretch of games, having been forced off early in the win against Qarabag due to a red card for defender Radu Dragusin. Bergvall was on the pitch for just 12 minutes before being replaced in the match in September, after which Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou sympathised with Bergvall, adding that there would be more opportunities to come for the young star.
"That’s football," the Spurs boss told TNT Sports. "He’s 18, he’ll get plenty more games.
"It’s a decision we had to make. We needed an extra midfielder in there to make sure we had cover, and we needed to bring a left-back on in Destiny.
"Just an adjustment we needed to make, nothing on Lucas. He’ll get plenty of opportunities."
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