Spurs have revealed that Tom Carroll picked up an injury in the Europa League match against Fiorentina.
Mauricio on team news: "@tom_carroll92 cut his Achilles. We hope it’s only 7-10 days & he'll be available again." pic.twitter.com/T5BcfhcXAW
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) February 19, 2016
With the FA Cup Fifth Round match against Crystal Palace taking place on Sunday, followed by the second-leg of the Fiorentina tie to come on Thursday, Carroll’s presence will be missed.
Yet it may present an opportunity for a player who has been struggling to find playing time this season. Eyebrows were raised when Nabil Bentaleb failed to even make the bench against Fiorentina. Will Mauricio Pochettino give him a chance over the next two fixtures?
Bentaleb’s fall from grace has been swift. From being one of Tottenham’s most important players last season in Pochettino’s first year at White Hart Lane, he now seems to be the fifth or sixth choice central midfielder.
His contract renewal was celebrated by Spurs fans, but if Bentaleb doesn’t start getting picked soon, one can only assume that he will go the same way as other players that have fallen out of favour with Pochettino.
If a player doesn’t work his socks off in training, and/or doesn’t follow his instructions when playing Poch gets rid of them!! Poch is ruthless. An fist of iron in a velvet glove!
Bentaleb is good when he avoids the silly, ‘showboating’ stuff, and concentrates on the match. If he plays as well as the others at Spurs play as a team, then he’ll be just as noticed as all the others on the pitch.
B’leb’s weakness is losing concentration when passing – we’ve seen him give it away badly at times. But otherwise a really good young player with a big future ahead of him. I though he did very well last season overall and hope to see a bit more of him soon.