Uruguay manager Marcelo Bielsa has included Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur in the squad for this international break.
The midfielder returns to the national team squad after missing the last two international breaks due to suspension.
On Wednesday, multiple claims from the British press stated the 27-year-old is set for a lengthy ban for his alleged racist remarks about Tottenham’s Son Heung-min. There are some claims indicating he will miss at least six matches.
Later that day, Bentancur, who is with the Uruguay camp, spoke to the local reporters and his comments are relayed by ESPN Deportes.
The former Juventus man has revealed that his agent was informed about his suspension, but he’s yet to hear from Spurs. The Uruguay international is aware he can’t do much about it and now wants to focus on the national team.
“My agent called me and said that he had been notified that this was the sanction. So far, the club hasn’t contacted me,” he said.
“I already knew more or less where the hand was going. Now the sanction is out, I want to be calm here in the national team and then we’ll see when it’s time for me to go back there.”
This is clearly a big blow for Ange Postecoglou and Spurs, considering the South American has been a regular when available for selection.
Uruguay will face Colombia and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers in the next two matches. They meet La Tricolor for the first time since their Copa América semi-final defeat in the summer.
The Tottenham midfielder isn’t thinking about ‘revenge’ when Uruguay face Colombia on Friday.
“Colombia are a very tough opponent, I don’t take it as revenge because we did very well in the Copa match, although it didn’t work out,” Bentancur explained.
“I had a knock that made me leave the pitch, but that’s part of football. We have to take it 100% as we’ve been taking all the games, we’re very focused and committed.”
