Tottenham star handed seven-game ban to miss Liverpool Premier League clash

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a blow with Rodrigo Bentancur handed a seven-match ban by the Football Association. The midfielder is therefore set to miss Liverpool's away match against Ange Postecoglou's side next month.

Liverpool have several fixtures both domestic and in Europe to attend to before they can consider preparing for their visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. At least now they have been given an early hint as who is unable to line up for their hosts.

The FA have intervened with this lengthy ban after an investigation opened earlier this year. Bentancur was charged with an 'aggravated breach' of the governing body's rules over comments actually made in Spanish on Uruguayan TV about Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min.

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His host asked him for a Spurs player's shirt, to which the midfielder replied: "Sonny's? It could be Sonny's cousin too as they all look the same."

This immediately landed him in hot water back in England and the repercussions have just only now been settled. Bentancur is due to be ruled out of his club's next seven domestic matches, therefore including the Reds' next Premier League meeting with Spurs on December 22.

This is actually the last of the seven he will miss, handing Liverpool this advantage by the finest of margins.

Whilst still a fair way from this clash, he becomes the sixth Spurs player simultaneously sidelined at present. Micky van de Ven, Timo Werner, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert have all been absent in recent weeks whilst teenager Mikey Moore was recently ill.

December 22 will mark the first time Liverpool have returned to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since they last went there in the Premier League. That day controversy was rife as Luis Diaz saw a perfectly legit goal ruled out after a VAR 'human error', Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were sent off contentiously and then in stoppage-time a home winner inflicted a first defeat of the 2023/24 campaign.