Tottenham Hotspur have been in an injury crisis in perpetuity. Even dating back to the end of the 2024/25 season, Spurs were down James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski who had both suffered severe knee injuries, and all these months later in January 2026, these two vital attacking players remain sidelined with no clear time table for return.
Star right winger Mohammed Kudus is out for a couple of months, and star left back Destiny Udogie remains day to day. And just as Spurs got Dominic Solanke back from injury for the FA Cup loss against Aston Villa this weekend, the club learned of yet another multi month injury. And that is not even getting into the status of another recently injured striker in Richarlison, who did his hamstring.
Center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur went down with a hamstring injury of his own at mid week in a 3-2 loss to Bournemouth, and while the injury held an uncertain prognosis at the time like most injuries, the majority of Spurs fans assumed he would miss a maximum of a few games.
Rodrigo Bentancur is cooked
Instead, Bentanacur is going to be out for a long time, even longer than Kudus. According to a new report from Argentinian outlet TyC Sports, Bentancur actually suffered a torn hamstring in that game and is going to require surgery. He will now miss at least three months recovering from the ailment, which will then put his status in doubt for the upcoming 2026 World Cup with Uruguay, which is devastating since, unlike at Spurs, he is an important starter in midfield for his national team.
Bentancur is no longer an important starting midfielder for Spurs because he has been pushed out a little bit. Thomas Frank was favoring the veteran, but his poor performances brought young Archie Gray more into the fore, and Gray has been getting more and more action lately, with fans happier to see him starting than the elder statetsman of the deep lying passing midfielders.
Gray has his own issues to iron out, but the U21 prospect is a phenom and could be a special player in the middle of the park with more bravery and progressive passing than the often cowardly Bentancur. With Bentau now injured for the foreseeable future, Frank has no excuse and no reason to turn away from Gray, who is now THE focal point of the deep lying passing at Spurs and the base of the midfield. The kings to the kingdom are fully his, and he has to run with this opportunity now.