Pape Matar Sarr went straight down the tunnel with a member of the Tottenham medical staff after he was taken off early into the second half of their Premier League clash against Aston Villa.
The midfielder was one of few first-team stars named from the off at Villa Park with club captain Son Heung-min also making his first start for a number of weeks. However, he lasted just over 50 minutes with Yves Bissouma coming on in his place.
It looked to be a pre-planned alteration but Sarr gingerly walking off sparked concerns and not going to the bench furthered those concerns.
READ MORE:
READ MORE:
The Lilywhites have already lost James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski to injury before their Europa League final against Manchester United next Wednesday. The latter is the newest injury blow with knee surgery required to fix the knee issue picked up last weekend against Crystal Palace
"Disappointing news," Postecoglou said . "Initially we thought it wasn’t too serious. The medical team were worried structurally about how the knee was but it blew up the day after and we knew there was an issue there. He has had surgery and it will put him out for at least a few months."
Asked if he could be back in time for the start of next season, he replied: "We will see. To be honest, I have only got basic information at the moment in terms of recovery but it will certainly put him out for a while."
"No, it is still the same sort of timeframe," he admitted when asked if the Swede could return. "He was never a long-term one but he has literally just got out of the boot and taken his first tentative steps on the grass but he won’t be available."
Losing Sarr as well, considering the existing midfield absentees, would be a huge blow. Despite that, it was unlikely he actually started the Europa League final with Wilson Odobert the most likely inclusion ahead of Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur.
While the Uruguay international was named on the bench, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie did not even travel to Villa Park.
