Insider: Tottenham may be without Richarlison for a long time after update – ‘My understanding is…’
Richarlison may not be fit to feature for Tottenham until 2023.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The Athletic reported on Tuesday (13 December) that Richarlison has undergone scans on a hamstring issue and is set for a spell on the sidelines.
The 25-year-old picked up the injury in the warm-up ahead of Brazil’s penalty shootout defeat to Croatia in the World Cup quarter-finals last week (9 December) but played 84 minutes of the game.
“These are difficult because at the World Cup, decisions are made that you would not normally consider during the cut and thrust of the Premier League,” Dinnery told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“These are one-off, high status and high profile games, the pinnacle of a lot of player’s careers. It could be the first and maybe only opportunity to play at a World Cup finals.
“Not only do you have to be in form and have a bit of luck with selection, but you’ve also got to be injury free in and around that time.
“We saw Richarlison head into the tournament when there were question marks initially. That probably contributed to the fact that fatigue was a factor when the high-intensity games were coming thick and fast. That’s probably had a little bit of an impact on that hamstring issue.
“The fact that he came through that game and played so many minutes, I wouldn’t read too much into that.
“My understanding is that we are looking at something that would mean Richarlison would struggle to play for Tottenham in any of those fixtures for this calendar year.
“The imaging may confirm but two to four weeks is a good guideline at this moment.”
In other news, Tottenham are plotting to sign a “phenomenal” star Mauricio Pochettino twice tried to sign.