Medical insider: Richarlison may be out for months at Tottenham amid ‘devastating’ twist
Richarlison may not play for Tottenham until after the World Cup in December.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
The 25-year-old was forced off with a calf injury during Spurs’ 2-0 win over Everton earlier this month (15 October).
Richarlison told ESPN after the game that his hopes of going to the World Cup were in doubt.
As quoted by BBC Sport last week (17 October), Antonio Conte insisted the forward will be fit for Qatar as it is “not a serious injury”.
“It’s always difficult to give a precise timeframe so early after the initial injury,” Dinnery told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“Richarlison did relate that initial injury to a calf problem he picked up while at Everton. He said with how it felt, it was very, very similar.
“That was an injury that kept him out for around 30, 34 days before he returned to play. That suggests he will spend a month on the sidelines.
“If we are working within those time parameters it may be difficult to see Richarlison back on the pitch for Tottenham [before the World Cup]. However, those were early comments.
“There may be a human element to bring into this as well. You’ve read the stories about how Richarlison felt in the aftermath initially and you heard Antonio Conte say he was devastated but thankfully those initial assessments showed it wasn’t as serious.
“There may be an element of Conte wanting to protect the player with that in mind. Whether that comes out publicly or it’s just something behind closed doors.
“At this point, it’s maybe a 50/50 call as to whether we see Richarlison before the World Cup. In regards to his involvement in the World Cup, there are no issues there.”
In other news, Tottenham have been backed to win the race to James Maddison after a journalist’s update.