Football London

The Tottenham Hotspur defender has been treading a fine line in recent weeks but has escaped a new Premier League suspension

Tottenham captain Cristian Romero will avoid a new Premier League suspension after one of the few positives to come out of the defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Spurs fell to a 3-0 defeat to Forest in a crunch match in the Premier League relegation battle and one of the only positives to come out of the dismal second half was that Romero managed to get through the game without picking up a yellow card. That was important for the Argentine and Tottenham because the centre-back was on eight yellow cards for the season in the Premier League.

The rules state that players who accumulate 10 yellow cards in Premier League matches up to and including their side's 32nd fixture will serve a two-match suspension in the competition. The defeat to Forest was Spurs' 31st game which means that Romero can no longer reach 10 yellow cards in the 32nd match which comes on April 12 with the trip to Sunderland. Two yellow cards within a game do not count.

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That swerved suspension would have been Romero's fifth of the season had it come to pass. The Tottenham skipper missed the home defeat to Fulham after reaching five yellow cards. He then missed Spurs' last Premier League win on December 28 at Crystal Palace after picking up a one-game ban for a second yellow and subsequent red card against Liverpool.

The World Cup winner then received an extra game suspension for not leaving the field of play quickly enough which meant he missed the FA Cup defeat at home to Aston Villa.

Then came a second red card of the season just half an hour into the defeat at Manchester United for a mistimed lunge on Casemiro, which meant he was suspended for the following four matches, all of which Spurs lost.

Now at least Romero, who is currently on international duty with Argentina, should be available for Tottenham's crucial final seven games barring injury or further red cards.

The talented Tottenham teenager reached another milestone in his remarkable start to football life on Thursday night on the international stage

A 'great career' lies ahead for Tottenham starlet Luka Vuskovic after he scored his first senior international goal for Croatia on Thursday night to help them beat Columbia in a friendly in the USA.

The 19-year-old is quickly becoming a rising star in the game despite the fact that he is yet to make a competitive appearance for Premier League side Spurs. Instead the big centre-back has been starring in the Bundesliga for Hamburg and that has brought transfer links with the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and plenty of the Premier League big boys in recent months.

Now Vuskovic, who has a contract at Tottenham until 2030, has taken his season to the next level after he scored his first international goal for Croatia on his third appearance for his country.

The young defender has an eye for goal and scored seven times on loan at Belgian side Westerlo last season, then netted in pre-season for Spurs and has hit the back of the net five times already for Hamburg in the Bundesliga.

On Thursday night, just five minutes into the friendly against Colombia at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Vuskovic levelled the scores after Jhon Arias' early goal with a deflected finish of his own from outside the box that flew into the net. Igor Matanovic scored a second goal for the away side before the break to ensure the young defender had played his part in the victory.

After the game Vuskovic posted on Instagram: "I am very proud to have scored my first goal for the national team and contributed to an important victory."

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It wasn't just his goal that stood out on the night as Vuskovic had 63 touches of the ball, a 96% pass success rate and 13 defensive contributions, including nine clearances, two blocks and two interceptions. He made three ball recoveries and was not dribbled past even once.

Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic said of the centre-back's performance: "He played well and with quality, which is why we played that system with three at the back.

"He maybe needs to be a bit more decisive and responsible, but he’s growing. He will certainly have a great career.

"In the last 15 minutes, we switched to four at the back, which he can play. He played well, like everyone else, I wouldn’t single anyone out. Many good things."

The Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper underwent hernia surgery this week and one of his coaches has indicated just how bad the problem was

One of Guglielmo Vicario's goalkeeping coaches revealed the Italian has been struggling with his hernia problems for months to make sure he was available for struggling Tottenham this season.

The Italian had been playing through the pain for Spurs until it was decided that he had suffered enough and would undergo surgery on Monday. First though Vicario made himself available for Sunday's defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League to try to help out his team-mates one last time before going under the knife.

The 29-year-old timed the operation to coincide with a long gap in Tottenham's fixtures as after the two week international break comes the FA Cup weekend with the north London side out of the competition. That means Spurs will not play again until April 12 when they make the trip to Sunderland in the Premier League looking to save their top flight status.

Vicario is expected to be back in action within a month so may miss just the one match if he misses any at all. In the meantime the Italy international has been nominated for the Premier League Save of the Month award for his flying tip on the post at Anfield to deny Liverpool's Cody Gakpo.

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The stunning save prevented the hosts from taking a two-goal lead before the break as he reacted to the Dutchman's quickly taken shot from inside the penalty area. and Spurs eventually found a late goal from Richarlison to grab a point.

Reacting to the award nomination on Instagram, Tottenham goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte, who won the Premier League with Liverpool last season, posted a message to Vicario which read: "So much respect for what you went through for months to be there for the team every game."

That gave more of a sense of the severity of the pain the Italian had been suffering and for how long it was restricting him.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Vicario took a private flight over to his homeland on Wednesday evening and will now stay with the Italy squad for the remainder of the international break. They face a play-off final away against Bosnia and Herzegovina after getting past Northern Ireland side featuring Spurs' Jamie Donley on Thursday night.

Vicario will then return to London to continue his recovery process ahead of Tottenham's final seven Premier League matches of a difficult season.

The Tottenham Hotspur attacker has been speaking to Swedish media and has made it clear when he expects to be back from his knee injury

Dejan Kulusevski expects to be back playing in time for this summer's World Cup and claims he's never felt better in his life than he does right now as he closes in on a return from his knee injury.

The Swede injured the patella in his knee back in May last year and after a couple of setbacks following his initial surgery, is yet to return to action for Spurs. Earlier this week he was spotted limping while in Spain meeting his international team-mates ahead of their World Cup play-off semi-final win against Ukraine.

The 25-year-old Tottenham midfielder revealed afterwards that he had undergone a small operation to clean out the knee and that was why he was limping but that the knee was "feeling great now" in a message on Instagram.

Then ahead of Sweden's game, Kulusevski delivered more positive news as he targets a return to action almost a year after his initial injury against Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season.

"I understand that people were worried, but it was really for the wrong reason. It was really positive that I did this little procedure and that we were able to find the problem. Now everything should be solved," he told Swedish media outlet Viaplay. "Now it's just a matter of slowly and surely coming back.

"I can see the light. It feels better now. I really have a positive feeling about these two important matches [for Sweden] and a World Cup in two or three months. This is how the book and the chapter will end. I am convinced of that."

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When asked if he sees himself playing at the World Cup for Sweden this summer, Kulusevski is confident of returning in time for the showpiece tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico and presumably beforehand to help Tottenham in their Premier League relegation battle.

"One hundred percent. Yes. That (the World Cup) is the driving force I have. To have that opportunity is absolutely fantastic. It's a challenge that I haven't been able to overcome so far in terms of getting healthy, but it's not over yet. Now the second game starts," he said.

The Spurs man admitted that his original goal has been to return for Thursday night's international play-off match but it was not to be.

"I did everything I could to be ready to play today. It didn't work. Maybe for things you won't even find out about, but at the end of the day, God decides. I'm very confident with where I am today," he said.

"I don't want people to be worried about me. I've never felt better in my life. I feel a lot stronger now. I hear people wondering if I'll be the same player when I come back. No, I'll be a lot stronger, a lot better, a lot smarter and better for my teammates."

Kulusevski is certain that the World Cup awaits for him this summer.

"That's how it has to end. Otherwise, it hasn't gone as I planned. I'm absolutely convinced that we'll win these two games and I'll be ready to play and play my first World Cup in the USA," he said. "That's how the movie will end, God willing."

One Tottenham Hotspur academy teenager got an unexpected call to link up with Thomas Tuchel's England senior side this week

Tottenham teenager Tye Hall received an unexpected call this week to join the England senior squad at Wembley on Thursday.

Thomas Tuchel needed an extra midfielder for his training session at the national stadium and as England have a strong relationship with Spurs, regularly using their Hotspur Way training ground, they asked the north London club if they could provide an academy player to join in with the session.

Tottenham turned to 18-year-old Hall, who has enjoyed a strong development season for the U18s, and he made his way to Wembley for the evening training session.

As experiences go, this was a big one for the teenager as he worked alongside the likes of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer as well as Spurs players Dominic Solanke and Djed Spence and England captain and Tottenham's record goalscorer Harry Kane.

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It was another milestone in this current campaign for Hall, the son of former Crystal Palace and QPR defender and now agent Fitz Hall. The young midfielder has only played once at U21 level but was involved with the first team at the beginning of this year when he travelled to Germany after being selected to be on Spurs' bench in the Champions League victory at Frankfurt in January.

Hall signed a new long-term contract for Spurs in the same money. The teen has captained the north London club's U18s side for much of this season, scoring five goals in 15 league games from midfield. He has also got further European experience with five appearances in the UEFA Youth League.

Manchester United youngster Ayden Heaven was also called upon earlier in the week in a temporary step up from the England U20s.

It's time to check in on those players who have left Tottenham in the past 18 months and what they have got up to in their careers

The Tottenham Hotspur squad that is currently fighting a relegation battle has seen many changes over the past two years.

In that time there have been three different head coaches in the dugout with the prospect of a fourth taking the helm in the coming weeks. With that turnover in the manager's seat the squad changes have been accordingly tumultuous and in all 18 first team players have departed the north London club permanently in the past two years alone.

Ben Davies remains the longest serving player at Spurs and it will be 12 years under his belt as he reaches the end of his contract this summer. The currently injured Welshman is also the final remaining member of the squad from the Champions League final in 2019 still remaining at Tottenham.

It's time to take a look at how those 18 players who left the club in the past two years have got on after heading out of the Hotspur Way exit doors. Many of them were big stars, one a club legend, another the man who brought them their first trophy in 17 years, some were expensive flops, while others were long-serving servants of the club.

Let's start with the last player to have left the north London outfit.

Brennan Johnson

Spurs shifted their policy this season to start getting better money in for players that they feel are not essential to the squad. That meant Brennan Johnson, just over six months after scoring their winning goal in the Europa League final, was informed that he was no longer required at the club as he did not fit into Thomas Frank's plans.

A £35million move to Crystal Palace came in January and it's fair to say the Wales international just hasn't fit into Oliver Glasner's set-up. He found himself playing as a right wing-back recently and the Eagles fans are struggling to see what he brings to them at this point in their system.

Johnson has yet to score in his 16 appearances so far for Palace, with just two assists to his name. It may be that he fits in better under Palace's next manager, as long as it's not Frank.

Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min left Tottenham Hotspur as a legend following a decade of service to the north London club, having scored 173 goals and registered 101 assists in 454 appearances. He became the first Asian player to score 100 goals in the Premier League and in May the South Korean star managed to do what so few before him had managed at Spurs in lifting a European trophy as captain of the club.

The 33-year-old told Frank that he wanted a new challenge last summer and duly joined LAFC in an MLS record fee of more than £20million.

Son revelled in the USA and racked up 12 goals and four assists the final 13 matches of his new club's MLS season. This season has started slightly slower with two assists and no goals yet in the early weeks of the league but with one goal and four assists in four CONCACAF Champions Cup games.

All eyes for the Spurs legend are now on the next few months and then the World Cup with South Korea.

Bryan Gil

Bryan Gil left Spurs last summer after four years as a Spurs player but with only 43 appearances and two assists to his name. The Spaniard just never found a place in N17 and was loaned out three times over those years.

He enjoyed his final loan spell at Girona and joined the La Liga club permanently for 10million Euros (£8.7million) at the very last moments of deadline day.

The 25-year-old suffered a knee injury towards the end of last season but after a summer of rehabilitation, Gil has become a regular starter as this campaign has worn on and had registered 24 appearances with three assists back in his homeland.

Sergio Reguilon

Another Spaniard who exited Spurs last summer, Reguilon left at the end of his contract, having made 73 appearances for Spurs, scoring twice and contributing nine assists over his five years at the club since joining from Real Madrid. That half a decade included an ill-fated loan to Atletico Madrid and then more successful half-season spells at both Manchester United and Brentford with Thomas Frank.

Last season Spurs could not find a move for Reguilon and he ended up playing six times for the club under Ange Postecoglou when needed.

Now he is with Lionel Messi at Inter Miami in the MLS although a knee sprain has meant a slow start to life over there with just the two appearances so far for the left-back.

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Timo Werner

Completing the MLS hat-trick, Timo Werner left Spurs after two loan spells and plenty of criticism from the supporters and is now playing for San Jose Earthquakes and has two assists in his first four games across the Atlantic.

The 30-year-old played 41 times for the north London club, scoring three goals and providing seven assists. Werner returned to RB Leipzig before making the winter move to San Jose.

Fraser Forster

The 37-year-old played 34 times for Tottenham over his three seasons at the club and managed eight clean sheets but conceded 54 goals during those games. He made four appearances in the Europa League last season meaning he got a winners' medal after the final in Bilbao.

After a little spell without a club, Forster, an England international with six caps and plenty of experience, moved to Bournemouth in the winter window and was on the bench in the immediate weeks after his move, including for the Cherries' win against Tottenham.

Alfie Whiteman

The long-serving Tottenham academy product departed the club last summer after a decade in Spurs colours.

Whiteman made his competitive first team debut in a Europa League win over Ludogorets at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November 2020 and had two separate loan spells at Swedish top-flight side Degerfors IF in 2021 and 2022, helping them avoid relegation from the Allsvenskan on both occasions.

The 27-year-old goalkeeper announced his retirement from football at the end of last year to move into the world of photography and directing. He has also taken acting lessons so perhaps we'll see him on the big screen in years to come.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

Hojbjerg left Spurs a long time ago, although technically he was only on loan at Marseille until his contract ended at the north London club last summer as he joined the Ligue 1 outfit with an obligation to buy that could rise to £17million.

The 30-year-old joined Tottenham in 2020 and played 184 times, scoring 10 goals and providing 17 assists during his four seasons before that loan to France.

This season the Danish midfielder has turned out 36 times for Marseille, scoring three goals and supplying four assists. He has captained the Ligue 1 side for much of this season.

Tanguy Ndombele

Tanguy Ndombele will be remembered by many as Tottenham's biggest flop after arriving from Lyon for a club record fee worth more than £60million back in 2019.

The Frenchman played just 91 times though over half a decade at the north London outfit before having his contract mutually terminated in the summer of 2024.

He moved back home when Nice signed him on a two-year contract. It was all going reasonably well to begin with before a sports hernia issue ended his season prematurely. Last summer he then had to go under the knife in a bid to fix a groin injury.

Now 29, Ndombele has had another injury-fragmented season, making his first appearance of the campaign in December but he has only played two minutes of Ligue 1 football since mid-February.

Giovani Lo Celso

Another expensive signing in that summer of 2019, Giovani Lo Celso had injuries aplenty at Tottenham and unfortunately they've followed him to Real Betis.

The Argentine, who turns 30 next month, hit the ground flying at first back in La Liga before muscle injuries hampered his first season and now in this campaign he started well for club and country only for a hamstring injury to have ruled him out of action since January.

Lo Celso played 108 games for Spurs, scoring 10 goals and laying on eight assists.

Emerson Royal

Emerson Royal is back in Brazil with Flamengo after a difficult time in Italy with AC Milan immediately after leaving Spurs in 2024.

The 27-year-old right-back left Tottenham in a deal worth £12.6million plus add-ons but Emerson struggled to impress in Serie A, although he did win the Italian Super Cup.

Emerson has found himself in and out of Flamengo's league side this season but has been getting some cup games, making 10 appearances so far this season.

Troy Parrott

Troy Parrott is one of the biggest success stories among the Tottenham departures in recent years, after joining AZ Alkmaar in a £6.7million deal in 2024 with a 20% sell-on clause for the north London side.

The 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international hit 20 goals for the Dutch side last season across 47 matches and this campaign has already got 28 goals and 10 assists in 41 matches.

Parrott has been linked with a big move this summer, with AC Milan mooted at one point as well as a Premier League return to Fulham or Everton, and Spurs will get that sell-on clause wherever he goes.

He also has 10 goals now for his country and he goes from strength to strength and Irish eyes are firmly set on the striker as the great hope for them ahead of the World Cup play-off semi-final against the Czech Republic.

Ryan Sessegnon

Everyone just wanted to see Ryan Sessegnon playing football again after his years of hamstring injury hell and he's doing exactly that back at Fulham.

Other than a little hamstring strain in December, the 25-year-old has been a near ever-present for Marco Silva's side at left-back. He has played 50 appearances for Fulham so far since joining them two seasons ago and this season has two goals and three assists to his name.

He scored last season against Tottenham in the defeat at Craven Cottage with a well-taken right-footed curling effort that brought no celebration.

"I spent five years at Spurs and I'm grateful for my time there. So that's why I didn't celebrate," the 24-year-old said after that game. "I'm feeling good, sharp and strong. I just want to play a little bit more. When I get the chances I want to prove I can play at this level."

When Tottenham decided not to take up the option of the additional year on his contract last summer, Sessegnon's return to Fulham meant that all of the club's arrivals in that now infamous 2019 window, including Ndombele, Lo Celso and even Jack Clarke went back to their previous side at some point after joining Spurs.

Joe Rodon

Joe Rodon has not looked back after leaving Spurs either as he helped Leeds United to the Championship title and missing only four minutes of football in their entire promotion-winning league season.

After joining permanently as part of the deal that brought Archie Gray in the opposite direction to north London that summer, now the 28-year-old is a Premier League regular with 30 appearances to his name this season in a Leeds shirt.

He will be hoping that Leeds remain up this season and that could end up being at the expense of Spurs. The two sides do battle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in May in what could be a crunch match.

Oliver Skipp

Oliver Skipp has become a regular starter finally for Leicester but it took going down to the Championship for it to happen. The 25-year-old struggled for minutes in the first half of the campaign but has become a regular in the midfield since November.

Skipp had left Spurs in 2024 after 18 years at the north London club and more than 100 first team appearances in a transfer that could eventually bring Tottenham more than £20million plus a sell-on clause.

Leicester boss Gary Rowett has turned to Skipp regularly since his appointment as the Foxes look to try to avoid dropping into League One.

Japhet Tanganga

Like Sessegnon, Japhet Tanganga left Tottenham and in doing so left his injury woes behind.

Tanganga, now 26, has played 96 times since heading out of Spurs. As with Sessegnon, Tottenham did not take up the option in the summer of 2024 to extend Tanganga's contract by its final year. Instead he signed on a free transfer for Millwall after impressing for the Championship side on loan last season.

Last summer though Tanganga made the move to Sheffield United and he has captained the Blades in the Championship for much of this season as he continues to develop in his career.

Ivan Perisic

It feels like the Croatian left a long, long time ago, but Ivan Perisic technically stopped being a Tottenham employee in the summer of 2024, even if he had already joined Hajduk Split the previous January on loan until the end of his contract.

His time at Spurs ended with that torn cruciate ligament and then his return to Croatia with Hajduk went in the wrong direction with the arrival of Gennaro Gattuso as the now 37-year-old's contract was mutually terminated.

That brought a move to another new league in his remarkable career with a switch to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and age has been no barrier for Perisic as he has racked up a remarkable 24 goals and 24 assists in 73 matches for the Eredivisie side.

Eric Dier

Similar to Perisic, Eric Dier has been gone from Spurs for longer but only officially left in that summer of 2024 after the option in his loan move to Bayern Munich was triggered in the second half of that season.

In all Dier played 48 matches at Bayern and left as a title winner for a new chapter at Monaco, where he signed a three-year contract.

He started well, scoring twice for the Ligue 1 side, including against Manchester City in the Champions League, but hamstring and calf injuries have fragmented his season before he returned to the bench at the weekend at Lyon.

Roberto De Zerbi has reportedly changed his mind about waiting until summer and could replace Igor Tudor at Tottenham before the end of the season

Mason Greenwood has previously described Tottenham Hotspur-linked Roberto De Zerbi as "a mastermind of the game." The former Manchester United striker made those remarks in December last year while playing under the Italian head coach at Marseille.

De Zerbi has been continually linked with the managerial vacancy at Spurs, though he had previously indicated he did not intend to return to management until the summer.

Nevertheless, reports on Wednesday suggested that the Italian has reconsidered his stance on Spurs and would be willing to accept the role this season should it become available.

Marseille striker Greenwood heaped praise on De Zerbi during an interview with French publication Telefoot late last year.

The 24-year-old said: "He's a mastermind of the game, with his ideas. He has helped me understand football a lot more. Since I arrived, he has helped me on a daily basis to help me get better."

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Spurs are embroiled in a relegation battle and face the real prospect of competing in the Championship next season following a calamitous Premier League campaign under Thomas Frank and current interim manager Igor Tudor.

Tottenham occupy 17th place in the top-flight standings - merely a point above third-from-bottom West Ham United with seven fixtures remaining.

Tudor's appointment has done little to reverse Spurs' fortunes, with last Sunday's abject 3-0 loss to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest marking a fresh low point for the Lily Whites.

It has prompted suggestions that Tottenham could be seeking another managerial change, with former Brighton and Marseille manager De Zerbi amongst the candidates being mentioned.

According to i, De Zerbi would be prepared to 'get his hands dirty' and accept the Tottenham role if approached. The report suggests that Spurs are seriously considering replacing Tudor before the season concludes.

It's also suggested that De Zerbi, currently without a club, would be open to taking on the challenge of rescuing Tottenham from relegation.

Tudor is currently dealing with the loss of his father, and Tottenham will be conscious of affording him necessary time and space.

The Lilywhites aren't scheduled to play again until after the March international break, with an away fixture against Sunderland set for April 12 (2pm GMT). They then face another crucial match six days later at home to Brighton.

Tottenham Hotspur will be closely monitoring results across the country when the Premier League gets back underway after the international break

Brighton could be without a key player when they face Tottenham Hotspur after the international break. Next month, Igor Tudor's side will host the Seagulls as they continue their quest for Premier League survival.

With just four points separating Leeds United in 16th from West Ham in 18th, sandwiching Nottingham Forest and the Lilywhites, there's very little margin for error in the relegation battle. Meanwhile, Brighton are a stone's throw from the European places, with just five points and three clubs separating them from Chelsea in sixth.

Although Fabian Hürzeler's side may fancy their chances, having not lost to Spurs on home turf since October 2022, they could be without Diego Gomez. The 22-year-old midfielder has established himself as an important player in the Brighton starting lineup this season, featuring in all but three games across all competitions

He has, however, been booked nine times in the process, putting himself at risk of suspension. According to The FA's disciplinary rules, players who accumulate 10 yellow cards in Premier League matches up to and including their club's 32nd fixture of the campaign will serve a two-match ban in the same competition.

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So, if Gomez is cautioned during Brighton's first game back after the international, when they face Burnley on April 11, he would miss the clash against Tottenham on April 18. The Paraguay international would also be suspended for the game against Chelsea on April 26.

Hürzeler has been delighted with the midfielder's progress on the south coast, so it'd be a huge blow if he were to miss the Tottenham clash. Earlier this month, following a home win over Forest, the Seagulls boss said: "He's a South American and South Americans are very passionate about football.

"He's passionate about improving, passionate about getting better every day, and I think we see it with his effort. He never rests, he's always there for the team, he's a hard worker and on top of that he has some really good quality.

"He has an amazing finish, he has a good understanding of the game, he attacks the box well, and he's always keen on learning. He's a really good listener, he tries to adapt to the new culture as quickly as possible, he's learning English so overall I really enjoy working with him."

Meanwhile, Tudor has described the relegation battle as the biggest r escue-job of his career. Speaking to reporters at the end of February, the interim Spurs boss said: " If I recognised the difficulties there are, probably yes [it is the biggest].

"It's an even bigger motivation that we do it. There's not too much time to think about performance or style. Every game needs to be prepared in that way: How are we going to take the points? One way or the other way.

"Unfortunately, it's for me very clear. I'm not that kind of coach who doesn't want to cure style, how we perform - but in this moment it's not possible to think about those kind of things."

Tudor later added: "The style is second because it's a question of life and death, if I can say that sportingly."

Another Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has met up with his international colleagues as he enters the final stages of his rehabilitation

Rodrigo Bentancur followed Dejan Kulusevski's lead in dropping in on his international team-mates this week as he nears his return from injury.

The 28-year-old Tottenham midfielder went to meet his Uruguay team-mates in London on Tuesday ahead of their match against England at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday evening. Bentancur is currently out after suffering a serious hamstring injury that required surgery back in January and the Uruguayan FA posted photos on their social media account of him coming to see his international team-mates at their training camp ahead of their game in the capital.

However, he is nearing a return to training at Spurs with his personal fitness coach, Daniel Fernandez, provided a detailed update last week on his progress as he explained to Uruguayan radio station 100% Deporte that the surgical wound had healed well and Bentancur's rehabilitation is currently around 15 days ahead of the original prognosis.

The midfielder has already returned to working on the grass after weeks spent in rehabilitation and strength training. Fernandez said that Bentancur should be ready to return to training by the end of this month but would not be realistically available for first-team action until the end of April if there are no setbacks.

Spurs interim boss Igor Tudor told football.london last week of his hope for Bentancur's return in the coming weeks.

"Rodrigo as well, [James] Maddison as well. We hope the medical staff will make us some nice surprise in the next weeks which would be very important to have that," said the Spurs boss.

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Bentancur is not the only injured Tottenham player to have joined up with his international colleagues this week after missing out on their squad. His former Juventus team-mate Kulusevski, who has been out since surgery on the patella in his knee in May last year, met up with the Sweden players in Spain this week.

Videos emerged of the 25-year-old limping as he walked around the training ground and hugged Sweden coach Graham Potter but the Spurs man explained why he was walking that way on Thursday morning on Instagram.

"Just to clarify things," he posted on his Instagram story. "I'm limping because I had a small intervention in the knee two weeks ago. Went in and took out what was not supposed to be there. Knee is great now. Thanks for all the support. God is the greatest. Always."

The Argentine has been linked with a return to Tottenham Hotspur for years and one former Spurs and USA player would not rule out him coming back sooner than people think

Tottenham might succeed in enticing Mauricio Pochettino to quit the USA now and return to the Premier League before the World Cup, former Spurs and USA goalkeeper Kasey Keller has claimed.

The north London club are in dire straits right now as they lie 17th in the Premier League and just a point above the drop zone. They have seven games remaining to save their top flight status after Sunday's 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The managerial situation at Spurs is delicate as interim head coach Igor Tudor found out after that game that his father Mario had died and the 47-year-old Croatian attended his funeral on Wednesday in Split in the presence of a huge congregation.

Tottenham will want to be sensitive towards what Tudor is going through. football.london reported earlier this week that there is a growing belief among some inside the club that a mutual parting of the ways is the likeliest scenario with the 47-year-old able to focus on family matters and Spurs on the huge pressures of what lies ahead.

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That scenario would lead to a decision needing to be made over whether Spurs appoint another temporary coach to hopefully stay up and then reach a wider managerial selection base in the summer or move now to bring in someone permanently now.

Former Brighton and Marseille boss Roberto De Zerbi has been linked to the job while Pochettino, who is also said to be of interest to Real Madrid, is never far from the conversation after repeatedly admitting that he wants to return to Tottenham one day.

Keller, who played 85 times for Spurs and on 102 occasions for the USA, believes the Argentine will leave his international job after the World Cup but could not rule out an earlier exit if his old club push hard enough.

"I definitely see him quitting after the World Cup. With Tottenham Hotspur, the problem, I think, is if they could entice Pochettino to quit the World Cup right now, and I could see that happening," said the goalkeeper.

"I think they may try to hold on, but I don't think they can. I don't think they can continue down the path right now without hiring somebody and have the unthinkable happen.

"Timing is so important, I think if Spurs could get a couple of wins in the next couple of matches, obviously the Forest match what a disaster. Then you think hold off, wait until after the World Cup and then have conversations. I think Spurs need to make a real serious move right now or the unthinkable is possible."

The former Tottenham and Leicester goalkeeper believes stars like captain Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have hurt their chances of a big move to a Champions League club this summer with their displays this season as the Lilywhites have struggled.

"Absolutely. When you're talking about these teams, you're talking about teams you need to go into with a particular mentality. We have seen that over the last couple of years with Man Utd, it hasn't been the mentality you expected at those clubs," Keller said. "Let's say Michael Carrick right now is starting to change that mentality at United, do you bring in somebody with the mentality of 'I'm not going to listen to this, I'm not going to do that, and I'm more important' - that would be a fear."

Keller believes Pochettino will do well with the USA at the World Cup this summer and the former stopper was asked if the Argentine could channel the spirit which took unfancied Spurs to the Champions League final in 2019.

"I think there's always something similar, but I don't think anyone suspects USMNT can win the World Cup. It's a squad Pochettino took some time to figure out, he kind of opened it up to a bunch of people and the results didn't follow, and then you saw over the last several camps that it has come right back down to where you thought it was going to be from day one and the results have followed," Keller told Jackpot City Casino.

"Like any World Cup, you need your stars to perform, you need your role players to do their role and then you need a handful of surprises. You need that player, like where did you come from, where did these performances come from.

"You need luck too. If you're playing against a big boy, you need them to have some sort of internal problem going on that you don't know about. Maybe you need just one of those crazy games where your goalkeeper has a great game. I think the US should do fine. I think we're just confused about how it will play out, the expanded player pool, three different countries, and there are some X-factors involved here that we haven't seen before."