da realsbet： Reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano has shared a twist on Ivan Perisic after Tottenham confirmed his very serious injury blow this week.
Arsenal vs Tottenham
da dobrowin： Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou has guided his new side through a very impressive start to this Premier League campaign.
The Lilywhites have clinched victory in four out of their opening five league matches; scoring 13 goals while displaying real character in parts. Tottenham's wins over Bournemouth, Man United, Burnley and especially Sheffield United exemplify just how much they've transformed under Postecoglou.
Spurs were forced to dig deep against the Blades last Saturday after going behind against the run of play, with two late, late goals from Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski gifting them all three points.
The north Londoners are now gearing up for their toughest test and biggest match of the campaign to date against fierce cross-town rivals Arsenal. Both sides go into the contest on a similar run of form, as Mikel Arteta's men also boast four wins out of their opening five but in far grittier fashion for the most part.
Tottenham team news
Postecoglou has no fresh injury concerns to worry about heading into their battle with Arsenal, except one of course.
Huge news came to light this week that winger Perisic suffered a complex Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee. The Croatian sustained it during non-contact training and is now set to undergo rehabilitation in a bid to get back to full fitness.
Perisic's injury has been described as a "big blow" by sections of the media, as the 34-year-old had been providing real injections of quality coming off the bench this season. There have been reports that the player could even miss the rest of this season, but according to Romano, this actually may not be the case.
Sharing a twist to the tale, the journalist suggests that, if all goes to plan, Perisic could make a return in March/April – and there is a "feeling" he can do it.
"Ivan Perisić has torn his ACL — he will miss the next 5/6 months as Tottenham confirm," wrote Romano on X. "Perisić, fantastic professional who’ll now work hard to be back and help Spurs in March/April… then Euro 2024 with Croatia, feeling he can do it."
How good is Ivan Perisic?
Signed by Antonio Conte last summer, Perisic arrived with plenty of pedigree and experience. The versatile ace went on to make 34 top flight appearances last term; racking up more league assists (8) than any other player in Tottenham's squad.
Speaking to the BBC last year, both Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer sang the praises of Perisic.
“Perisic is a seasoned pro isn’t he, he’s such a good player and can play different positions for you," said Lineker (via Spurs Web). The Newcastle legend responded: “He’s a really good player. You won’t be around for as long as he has and have the career he has [without that]. He’ll be a big player for them today.”
Having him back for the last month of the season would be a big boost for Postecoglou and co.