Rodrigo Bentancur demonstrated what he is all about last Saturday after delivering an excellent performance in Tottenham's 3-1 win over Brentford. Enduring an extremely tough past 18 months following the ACL injury he sustained at Leicester City in February 2023 and also a couple of other further injuries, the Uruguayan gave everyone a glimpse against the Bees of just what he can offer Ange Postecoglou's side across the 2024/25 season.
Unfortunately for Postecoglou and Spurs, they could possibly be set to lose the Uruguayan international for a period of games at some point in the not too distant future. Earlier in the month it was revealed that Bentancur has been charged by the FA over his comments regarding Spurs captain Son Heung-min during an interview with Uruguayan TV in June, with the player having until Thursday, September 19 to provide a response to the charge.
Bentancur and Tottenham are now waiting for the verdict from the FA and there is a possibility that he could face a ban of up to 12 games as a result of his comments. After speaking to the FA following the initial news of the FA charge for the player, football.london understands that match-based sanctions of six to 12 games are recommended to regulatory commissions for almost all 'aggravated breaches' of FA Rule E3 that are a first offence by individual participants.
The Spurs midfielder has the opportunity to accept or deny the charge. If he accepts, the commission will go on to decide on sanction or sanctions. If Bentancur denies it, the commission will decide whether to uphold or dismiss the charge, and if the former they would also decide the sanction or sanctions.
Bentancur also has the prospect of another ban hanging over his head. The 27-year-old has so far obtained three yellow cards in his first four Premier League appearances of the season and that means he is now walking the disciplinary tightrope.
As ever, players who receive a total of five yellow cards in their first 19 fixtures will be given a one-match suspension. Fourteen Premier League players are currently on three yellow cards from the first five games, with Bentancur the only Tottenham player to feature on the list.
With a further 14 Premier League games to go until we pass the cut-off point for a one-match ban for five yellows, Bentancur is on track to pick up a ban if his tendency to pick up yellow cards at his current rate continues. The ex-Juventus man may not be available for a chunk of those 14 Premier League games, though, depending on the possible punishment that comes his way from his FA charge.
Always going to be a big season for Bentancur after the stop-start nature of last term, Postecoglou praised his midfielder on the eve of the campaign and outlined his importance as Tottenham look to progress. If he is to end up missing some games, he will be a big miss for the club.
"Yeah, Rodri last year was very much, a bit like our season, it was very much stop-start at times," he said ahead of the Leicester City game. "At times he looked really good, got some rhythm and then something would happen whether it was an injury or another disruption.
"For him and the other guys, he went away with Uruguay and got game time there. In terms of his mindset, he is in a much better place of knowing that from an injury perspective he is free of that. He is 12 months down the track after a significant injury, which always takes a bit of time and it's been great to have him back part of the group.
"He came on in the second half last week [vs Bayern Munich] and I thought he looked really good, has looked good in training, so hopefully that is where some of our improvement comes from. Guys who last year for one reason or another couldn’t get to the levels we know they can and if we can do that with guys like him and the ones who had good seasons last year, if we can improve them as well, that improvement I am looking for will be there."
In regards to Tottenham's other players who could potentially face a one-match ban for five Premier League yellow cards before the cut-off point, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are currently on two bookings apiece from the team's opening fixtures.
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