Rodrigo Bentancur taken to hospital after being stretchered off as Ange Postecoglou gives update on Tottenham star.
Ange Postecoglou is hopeful Rodrigo Bentancur’s injury wasn’t as bad as it looked after the Tottenham star was taken to hospital during their win over Liverpool.
The midfielder received treatment for over eight minutes after awkwardly going down inside the penalty area.
Bentancur was looking to head the ball at the near post after a corner was swung in from the right.
However, he was left stricken on the turf as his teammates rushed over to him.
Play was paused at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the club’s medical staff attended to the Uruguayan.
After eight minutes of receiving treatment, Bentancur was stretchered off the field with fans from both clubs applauding the player off.
Tottenham said in a statement released at half time: “We can confirm Rodrigo is conscious, talking and will go to hospital for further checks.”
When asked for the latest on Bentancur after the game, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou told talkSPORT: “Yeah, I’ve obviously only got limited information, so I’m not going to sort of go too deep into it, but my understanding is he was conscious by the time we got to the dressing room.
“He was actually, you know, I sort of had a look at him when he was coming off. He was conscious then. But he’s obviously been taken to hospital just to make sure everything’s okay.
“But yeah, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Brennan Johnson was brought on as Bentancur’s replacement.
As Bentancur left the field, talkSPORT commentator Sam Matterface said: “He has got an oxygen mask on. He is, well, they’re moving him, so he must be stable. They wouldn’t be moving him if he wasn’t.
“But there is an oxygen mask on Rodrigo Bentancur, who’s surrounded by seven medical staff now. The referee is just trying to push the players away.
“Pedro Porro is the closest Tottenham player to it. They’ve slid the two yellow halves of the stretcher underneath his body.
“They’re going to try and pick him up and put him onto the more stable structure of the stretcher, the blue plastic stretcher, which is just in front of him. But this is a concerning situation.”
Matterface later added: “Well, he went to head the ball and just sort of landed flat on his face, didn’t he? He went to sort of glance the ball and landed flat on his face… it’s landed horribly. It was like a belly flop nose dived into the floor, wasn’t it?
“Certainly, it’s almost just dived into the floor. Well, he’s being taken off here on a stretcher. Just having a look now, he’s got a blanket draped over him. There is an oxygen mask on his face.
“He’s been taken down the tunnel immediately. And I imagine that he will be straight off to hospital to be assessed. And you can only hope that that’s the case.”
The injury to Bentancur was a bad start to a good night for Spurs, who ran out 1-0 winners in the first leg.
Bentancur had been making his return to the Spurs starting line-up following suspension.
The 27-year-old missed Saturday’s Premier League defeat to Newcastle after picking up five yellow cards.
Meanwhile, he previously served a seven-match ban earlier in the campaign.
Bentancur has made 19 appearances for Ange Postecoglou’s side so far this term.
Across those matches, he has scored twice and provided an assist from midfield.
The injury to Bentancur was a bad start to a good night for Spurs, who ran out 1-0 winners in the first leg, with Lucas Bergvall scoring the winner on 86 minutes.
Spurs and Liverpool are battling for a place in the final of the Carabao Cup, with the showpiece final to take place at Wembley on March 16.
The winner of the tie, with the second leg taking place at Anfield on February 6, will face either Arsenal or Newcastle in the final.
