Tottenham veteran flanker Ivan Perisic may never play for his current club again, according to reports.
This was claimed by Nizar Kansella, who covers Tottenham for the British publication Evening Standard, while giving an update on the club’s injured players on Monday.
For now, he is confident that the trio of new signings for the season are unlikely to return this year.
“I don’t think James Maddison and Micky Vander Penn will be back before New Year’s Day,” Kinsella said, “and the same goes for Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon.”
All but Sessegnon were brought in by new manager Anzhi Postecoglou last summer to bolster the squad. They all arrived at Tottenham with some success and were on the verge of making an impact, only to be sent to the injury ward.
Both Vander Penne and Maddison were forced off with injuries in the home game against Chelsea on July 7. Vander Penn was chasing down a Chelsea counter-attack when he suddenly grabbed his leg and went down. She is rehabbing a hamstring injury.
Maddison also left the game against Chelsea with a knee injury. Maddison recently spent his birthday in the Middle East and is not expected to return for some time.
Solomon, who was brought in as a backup on the flank, also injured his knee. He was injured earlier than Madison and Van der Penn and is also unlikely to return this year. Sessegnon is an established player, but his injury is long-term. He’s been out of action since February with a hamstring injury, and there’s no timetable for his return.
However, these are all resources that Spurs will be able to rely on when he returns from injury.
The 34-year-old Perisic is a different story. “He has a cruciate ligament injury and he will never play for Tottenham again,” Kinsella said of Perisic.
Perisic went down in mid-September, and at the time, Spurs said, “Perisic has been confirmed to have suffered a compound anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to his right knee.”
“The injury occurred during non-contact training and will undergo surgery. Perisic will begin rehabilitation with the medical staff. He is expected to miss the remainder of the season.”
This means that he won’t be back for the 2023/24 season, but Kinsella seems to be describing a situation where he is out of contract and can’t realistically stay with Spurs.
Perisic joined Spurs last season on the recommendation of Antonio Conte and made his Premier League debut at the age of 33. He was criticized by fans at home for overlapping with Son Heung-min, but his left-footed crosses are still useful and he led all Spurs players in assists in the Premier League last season.
Perisic’s future was up in the air when Postecoglou arrived, but the new boss raved about him in preseason and he was a regular substitute in the first five Premier League games this season. However, he suffered a devastating injury and given his progress following surgery, it’s unlikely Spurs will utilize Perisic again next season.