Erik Lamela played his last Premier League game for Tottenham Hotspur this season in a 0-0 draw away to Bournemouth in October. Quite frankly he hasn’t been since and the reasons for his absence have been much speculated.
Injury Mystery
Initially there was an non specific injury disclosure and by early December the Tottenham manager, Mauricio Pochettino was making noises about “concerns” that Lamela’s hip injury was complicated and there was no timescale for recovery. Incidentally this was also the period in which Lamela had to return to Argentina for a “family” issue which later transpired had something to do with his brother being seriously hurt in an accident.
Of course the trip to Argentina would have delayed Lamela’s recovery but once that was out of the way he then had to deal with the personal grief of losing his pet dog. A change of scenery was needed it seems and so by late January Lamela found himself in familiar surroundings in Rome. Quite why he needed the change of surroundings was unclear and further scepticism has arisen when Lamela was apparently having scans on his hip at Roma’s facility. In the meanwhile his club in London were keeping tight lipped.
Speculation
It wasn’t long before the speculation started that Lamela would be moving back to Roma and that his days at Tottenham were numbered. Rumours gathered pace to sufficient levels that Lamela himself had to use social media to announce that he was looking forward to returning to Tottenham with whom he hoped to play with for a long time. On 26th January there were media reports that he would be returning to Tottenham’s state of the art training facility in order to pick up his rehabilitation and return to fitness. One month on we are no closer to knowing whether Lamela will play for Spurs again this season.
It is a confusing time for the player and for the fans of the club. It seems that something is not quite right and Pochettino himself has done very little to put the speculation to rest. In fairness to Pochettino he is usually tight lipped on most things, in particular player injuries and transfer stories, but the one thing that the Lamela situation needs right now is clarity.
Lamela had an injury plagued first season in England which disrupted his integration into the team and the Premier League culture. Tottenham were starting to see the benefits of having spent £30m on this young player during last seasons title push that petered out once Leicester City had tied things up for an historic win.
Moving Forward
Lamela has his detractors amongst Spurs fans. There are those that perhaps expected a direct replacement for the departing Gareth Bale; or those that just want him to be more productive in terms of goals and assists given his £30m price tag. One thing that Lamela does give this Tottenham team is his pressing, his energy, and a robust determination in winning back possession quickly to put his team on the front foot again. This is key to Pochettino’s footballing philosophy. Even in the last four games of last season once the title had officially been lost and his team mates heads were turning to the forthcoming European Championships, Lamela still played as if every game meant something.
It would be interesting to see just what the future holds for Erik Lamela. But in recent Tottenham performances where injuries have taken their toll and last summers signings do not yet seem to carry Pochettino’s trust, Tottenham could have used Lamela’s talents. Whether he would have started or come off the bench it would have at least given Pochettino better attacking options than he seemingly has at the moment. One thing is clear however. Transparency is needed, and quickly, regarding the injury issues that have plagued him as well as an indication as to whether he will indeed return before the end of this season.
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