Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he does not know when winger Erik Lamela will return from injury, the same injury that has kept the Argentinian out since October.
Lamela last featured for Spurs in the 2-1 EFL Cup defeat at Anfield, and it has been a hip injury that has kept him out of action for a couple of months now. Pochettino had previously said that the injury was minor and that Lamela’s recovery time should have been a few weeks at the most.
However, here we are in January, and it has been over two months since Lamela last played for Spurs, and fans are starting to get a little anxious as to when the winger will return from injury.
Pochettino has given an update on the fitness of Lamela, and the news is not good for Tottenham fans in the sense that the Argentinian has not responded well to the latest phase of treatment from the Spurs staff. In an attempt to find a solution Lamela’s hip injury and to get him back to full fitness, Pochettino and the Spurs staff have allowed him to return to his former club Roma for more treatment accompanied by one of the Spurs medical staff. Here is what the Spurs boss had to say about the situation as reported by The Guardian.
“Lamela has gone to Rome; he has strong links there. He believes and we believe that it’s important to change a little bit – and in his mind. He asked to finish his recovery time there and the club, us, the staff believe that that situation is right. It’s always difficult for the player who spends a lot of time [out] – more time than he believes and we believe. With the energy of the team – sometimes, he’s frustrated that he cannot be involved and today, it’s only him that is out of the group. He has a special link with a physio in Rome. And I say thank you to Roma for opening the door to him and trying to recover the player. Our staff are there with him, too.”
It is true that Lamela will probably benefit from a change of scenery, but the fact that this prolonged spell out has had the 24-year-old thinking about his long-term future will be a worry for Spurs. It is believed that the winger is starting to fell a little isolated from the squad being the only player currently injured having not taken part in training with the rest of the squad.
We hope that this trip will be beneficial to Lamela, and that we can see him back on the pitch playing for Spurs as soon as possible.
