Empire of The Kop

Tottenham have confirmed that Rodrigo Bentancur is ‘conscious’ and ‘talking’ following the player’s first-half collapse on the pitch at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The 27-year-old midfielder had to be stretchered off the field of play in the 14th minute of action during Spurs’ Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg clash with Arne Slot’s Liverpool.

The good news was dropped by the London-based outfit’s X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday evening at the half-time break.

We can confirm Rodrigo is conscious, talking and will go to hospital for further checks.

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 8, 2025

What happened to Bentancur?

We at Empire of the Kop want to wish the Uruguayan a very speedy recovery and hope that his upcoming hospital visit confirms the footballer remains in tip-top shape.

Footage shared of the incident in question, as relayed on X by @ArneSlotArmy_, shows the footballer appearing to attempt to reach a lofted ball from a corner before falling awkwardly onto the turf.

Not looking well the way he landed and his body twisted 😰

Get well soon Bentancur 🤍❤️ pic.twitter.com/SYhpKFG9sO

— Arne Slot's Army (@ArneSlotArmy_) January 8, 2025

Jarell Quansah injured in the first-half

Unfortunately, Liverpool’s defensive crisis deepened in the opening 45 minutes as Academy graduate Jarell Quansah was shepherded off the pitch with an injury concern.

The BBC’s Nizaar Kinsella described it as a ‘routine fitness issue’ – so we’re hopeful that our No.78 won’t be handed a lengthy stint in the treatment room amid a growing concern in the heart of the defence.

With Ibrahima Konate recently returning from injury (and not risked with further minutes against Tottenham) and Joe Gomez potentially out for weeks with a hamstring injury, it’s far from ideal.

Time for us to take a long hard look at the January transfer window and assess whether we need to take drastic action?

We sincerely doubt that Richard Hughes and Co. will be looking to bolster our options at centre-back, but it would be incredibly frustrating to see yet another campaign derailed by injuries in the backline.

Hopefully, we can just manage the situation as it is.

Arne Slot has said that one Liverpool player remains a ‘doubt’ to start for the Reds against Tottenham in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday night.

Joe Gomez is the only injury absentee for the trip to north London, with Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley having both made their comebacks in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United at the weekend.

Dominik Szoboszlai missed the game on Sunday due to illness, and the LFC head coach was asked for an update on the Hungary midfielder in his pre-match press conference this morning.

Slot shares early Liverpool team news hint

Slot confirmed that the 24-year-old missed training on Monday but was hopeful of having him involved with the Liverpool squad today, although a return to the starting XI tomorrow night seems unlikely.

The Reds boss said of our number 8 (via Liverpool FC on YouTube): “Yesterday he wasn’t in yet, so [we’ll see] if he’s in today. I would doubt he’s available to start the game, but hopefully he’s in today. Yesterday he wasn’t.”

Hopefully Szoboszlai will at least make the Liverpool matchday squad

Having starred in the 6-3 win away to Tottenham just before Christmas, when he scored one goal and set up another, it’d be a shame for Liverpool if Szoboszlai hasn’t recovered in time to feature against Spurs on Wednesday night.

The Hungarian’s last involvement on the pitch was on Boxing Day, having been suspended for the 5-0 thrashing of West Ham and then missing the draw against Man United because of illness, so he’ll be itching to get back into the action as soon as possible.

It seems unlikely that he’d be risked for the FA Cup tie against Accrington Stanley next weekend, so the next we could see of him is in the pivotal Premier League showdown away to Nottingham Forest in a week’s time.

Slot didn’t rule out Szoboszlai entirely for tomorrow night, so there’s a chance that the 24-year-old will be among the substitutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Curtis Jones likely to keep his place despite Jamie Carragher’s criticism of his performance on Sunday.

Fingers crossed that Liverpool’s number 8 will at least be in contention for the matchday squad for the cup clash in north London, even if it’s only as an option off the bench.

Liverpool and Tottenham are set to lock horns in the Premier League and, as always, both coaches faced the media before the match.

Ange Postecoglou provided a squad update (via liverpoolfc.com) and it can certainly be seen as positive from our point of view.

The full report stated: ‘Tottenham, meanwhile, are waiting on the availability of Timo Werner following an illness that meant the forward missed Thursday’s Carabao Cup win over Manchester United.

‘Destiny Udogie is expected to return to the matchday squad having also been absent for that contest, in which Spurs prevailed 4-3.

‘Ange Postecoglou said on Friday: “Timo was unwell yesterday, so we’ve got 48 hours before the game, hopefully he’ll recover, and the plan is that Destiny should be OK.”

‘Spurs are set to be without eight players for certain, with Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Mikey Moore, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison remaining sidelined for the hosts.

‘Rodrigo Bentancur also continues to serve a suspension and will miss the fixture in north London.’

Seeing eight players ruled out is something that many of our fans may enjoy seeing, whilst the two returning will certainly boost their squad but may not be at 100% themselves.

Ange Postecoglou has some squad decisions to make against Liverpool

Arne Slot too was tasked with providing his own fitness news and confirmation that we’re still some time off seeing Ibou Konate and Conor Bradley was certainly a big blow.

We will all hope that our head coach has a plan to defeat the Londoners in their own back yard and anything that can aid our chances can only be seen as a positive.

With some Spurs fans being left with a bitter taste in their mouth after Jamie Carragher’s Carabao Cup draw antics led many to suggest corruption, they will be up for this game.

We’ve seen them dismantle Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (although everyone is doing that these days) and we’ll be in for a tough match.

Let’s just hope that the Reds can run out as victors and hold our place at the top of the Premier League.

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