Medical expert, Ben Dinnery has given his verdict on the injury to Tottenham Hotspur star, Richarlison.
Speaking to Football Insider, Dinnery claimed that the Brazilian would ‘struggle’ to make a return to Spurs before 2023.
Richarlison joined Tottenham last summer, costing a fee of £60 million from Everton.
According to The Athletic, Richarlison has undergone scans on issues surrounding his hamstring and will miss a spell of games.
The 25-year-old had an impressive World Cup with Brazil, netting three times in four games. However, the South American nation would be eliminated from the tournament in the quarter-finals by Croatia.
Dinnery stated, “These [injuries] are difficult because at the World Cup, decisions are made that you would not normally consider during the cut and thrust of the Premier League
“These [injuries] are one-off, high status and high profile games, the pinnacle of a lot of player’s careers. It could be the first and maybe only opportunity to play at a World Cup finals.
“Not only do you have to be in form and have a bit of luck with selection, but you’ve also got to be injury free in and around that time.
“We saw Richarlison head into the tournament when there were question marks initially. That probably contributed to the fact that fatigue was a factor when the high-intensity games were coming thick and fast. That’s probably had a little bit of an impact on that hamstring issue.
“The fact that he came through that game and played so many minutes, I wouldn’t read too much into that.
“My understanding is that we are looking at something that would mean Richarlison would struggle to play for Tottenham in any of those fixtures for this calendar year.
“The imaging may confirm but two to four weeks is a good guideline at this moment.”
TIF’s view on Dinnery’s comments…
We believe that the injury to Richarlison is a real shame. We would’ve loved to see what the Brazilian could’ve done in the Premier League straight after the World Cup.
Spurs have one more league match remaining in 2022, they travel to Brentford on Boxing Day. So, hopefully, the 25-year-old will be back in action for their first game of 2023 against Aston Villa.
Richarlison has struggled to make an impact in the Premier League. He’s yet to register a goal in the league from 10 appearances. Having said that, he has proven to be effective in Europe, scoring two Champions League goals in four appearances.
The forward was Brazil’s top scorer at the World Cup, he will certainly be raring to go and prove that it wasn’t just a temporary stint of form.
However, it’ll be a challenge, Harry Kane has been in terrific goal-scoring form, the English forward has 12 goals from 15 league appearances.
If he can grasp the opportunities that come his way upon his return, Richarlison could show that his talents were worthy of a £60 million price tag.