Tottenham star eager to make up for lost time after 'serving his punishment'

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed that midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is keen to make amends following his suspension as he prepares for a return against Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.

Bentancur has missed the last seven domestic games after receiving a Football Association ban for making racist comments about team-mate Son Heung-min.

The 27-year-old Uruguayan’s absence has been sorely felt by head coach Postecoglou, who has faced a December filled with injuries and inconsistent performances from his squad.

“Even the injured guys, they are around the group all the time, and they want to help, they want to contribute,” Postecoglou remarked.

“They know we’re in a tough moment and, for Rodrigo, it has been even more frustrating because it’s not an injury which has kept him out. As I’ve said, he made a mistake, served his punishment now and wants to help the team.”

“It’s good to have him back. He’s been working hard at training. In terms of Boxing Day, we’ll see, but certainly (a boost) just to have an extra body.”

“I think what the players have had to deal with, the core group of players over the last sort of three weeks or so, has been very, very demanding on them.

“Most of them have got through it pretty well, in terms of not getting any more injuries, thankfully for us, but it’ll be nice to have just some ability to rotate some players and even make substitutions in games that hopefully will help us.”

Tottenham’s joint-top scorer Brennan Johnson, with 10 goals to his name this season, has found himself warming the bench in recent games despite his impressive tally.

Spurs boss Postecoglou has made it clear that there’s “nothing more” Johnson needs to do to earn a starting spot as he prepares for an emotional return to his former club Forest.

With Dejan Kulusevski currently preferred on the right wing due to his goal-scoring form, Postecoglou is considering shaking things up at the City Ground by potentially bringing in Bentancur and Johnson for Bissouma and Sarr.

When quizzed about Johnson’s situation, Postecoglou said: “Nothing more. He has to just keep doing what he is doing.”

He added: “Obviously we have the balance of the team and we’ve had Deki there and Deki has done really well, scored in the last five games.

“It is just the balance of the team. Part of it is again, we don’t have a lot of options up there and it is about managing that load.

“We’re already overburdening a couple of players in that area, so it is good to have Brennan, who we are managing through this period and he’ll play significant minutes.”

As Tottenham gear up for a crucial clash in Nottingham, they face a rejuvenated Forest side under the guidance of their former coach Nuno Espirito Santo, who has transformed them from relegation strugglers to surprise Champions League contenders.

Reflecting on Nuno’s time with Spurs, Postecoglou remarked: “He obviously came here and it didn’t work out for him, which just happens, but he’s shown he’s a top manager and he’s doing a fantastic job at Forest.

“They’ve got some quality players in there and they’re having a really good season. Particularly at their place, it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”