Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has revealed he wanted to play for Uruguay in the September international break, despite being out injured with a knee ligament rupture.
That Uruguayan has been speaking to Sport 890 in his homeland, relayed by El Pais, regarding his international future under Marcelo Bielsa.
Bentancur has been out injured since February with a cruciate ligament rupture that saw him spend 245 days on the treatment table.
He returned on Friday in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, playing a minute in the second half and making his long-awaited return from the injury absence.
His plan is now to get back to full fitness as soon as possible and compete for a place at Tottenham, where he will have to work hard to get Ange Postecoglou’s favourite pairing of Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr out of the team.
His focus is also on the national team, though, and he’s revealed he was even ready to go play for Uruguay in September, despite still being out injured.
“I have to show that I’m fine. I’m ready to play, I’m no longer injured. If Marcelo Bielsa calls me, I’m there. I had two talks with him about the position I was going to play in and what he wanted from me.
“Then I continued having contact with the doctors. If it was up to me, I would go on the double date in September. The desire and willingness are there.”
The question now is whether Bentancur can force himself back into Tottenham’s team and re-establish himself as the key player he was previously.
That will certainly be difficult given the relationship that has formed between Sarr and Bissouma this season and the performances they’ve put in.
With Tottenham also flying high at the top of the league, it seems unlikely that Postecoglou will be rushing to change his team anytime soon either.
There may be a point where Bentancur looks elsewhere, and it appears there is one transfer he would particularly like at some point, a move to Peñarol.
“I am a fan, and I would love to play for the club,” he added.
“Federico Valverde is crazy. If it were up to him, he would come back now. Two out of three times tells me to play together and try to fight for a Copa Libertadores. The dream is there.”
