Ivan Perisic of u will have ACL surgery

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that versatile midfielder Ivan Perisic has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and will require surgery soon.

Since Ange Postecoglou took over as coach, the Croatia international has participated in all six competitive games for the Lilywhites this season, registering two assists.

Perisic’s only start came in Tottenham’s EFL Cup second-round loss to Fulham last month, when he assisted Richarlison, but he has appeared off the bench in five Premier League games.

“We can confirm that Ivan Perisic has suffered a complex Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee,” Tottenham wrote on Twitter.

“The experienced Croatia international was injured during non-contact training and will have surgery.” Ivan, best wishes for a speedy recovery.”

The Lilywhites have not offered a timetable for his recovery, but considering the nature of his injury, Perisic is likely to miss the rest of the season, which means he may have played his final game in a Spurs shirt before his contract expires in 2024.

The former Inter Milan and Bayern Munich winger might thus say farewell to Spurs next summer, having played 50 games for the club since coming on a free transfer last summer, scoring one goal and setting up 14 others.

In the 2022-23 season, no Tottenham player had more assists than Perisic (12), and he scored his only goal for the North London giants in a 3-3 draw with Southampton in March.

Perisic was a fixture at wing-back in his rookie season, but it was Antonio Conte’s penultimate game in command, and Perisic had dropped down the pecking order since Postecoglou established a 4-3-3 formation.

Destiny Udogie has established himself as the Australian’s first-choice left-back, with Son Heung-min and Manor Solomon fighting for starts on the left side of the attack, forcing Perisic to mostly take minutes off the bench.

The Croatian was rumored with a transfer away over the summer before remaining put, but given his devastating injury setback, an exit in 2024 is now viewed as probable, and Hajduk Split were thought to be considering a January offer.

However, it remains to be seen whether Perisic’s injury will hinder Hajduk’s pursuit of the midfielder, who joins Rodrigo Bentancur, Bryan Gil, Ryan Sessegnon, Alfie Whiteman, and Giovani Lo Celso in the Tottenham treatment room.

Only Lo Celso (thigh) is expected to return for Spurs’ next Premier League encounter, which is against North London rivals Arsenal on Sunday lunchtime.