Journalist Tom Barclay has revealed Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal injured his knee while on international duty with Brazil and is set to undergo surgery.
Royal had been in resurgent form of late, scoring two goals in the last two months (Transfermarkt) and putting in impressive displays at right wing-back. Despite the arrival of Pedro Porro, Royal has managed to retain his place in the Spurs starting line up more often than not.
This form had earned the 24-year-old a recall to the Brazil national team for the recent international fixtures. Royal made his eighth appearance for his country at the weekend (Transfermarkt), playing 90 minutes against Morocco in a 2-1 defeat for Brazil.
Royal was seen limping off the pitch late on in Morocco on Saturday. Now, reports suggest the problem may be more serious than first thought.
The Sun reporter Barclay tweeted: “Emerson Royal has damaged his knee playing for Brazil and is set to undergo surgery.”
Meanwhile, a report from Football.London‘s Alasdair Gold claims Royal “could miss much of the rest of the season” due to the surgery. It is believed Royal is “now back in London” preparing for surgery on the “meniscus in his knee.”
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The report adds that the standard recovery period for this type of issue can be “around six weeks.”
The absence of Royal will mean Pedro Porro is the only fit first team right back in the Tottenham Hotspur squad. This comes after the club let Djed Spence join Rennes on loan until the end of the season, and released Matt Doherty for a move to Atletico Madrid.
Spurs Web Opinion
This is frustratingly typical, that a position we had an abundance of talent in is now dangerously short on options due to transfer strategy and injuries leaving us short. It’s even more frustrating that Royal had just hit a good run of form and now that has all been interrupted.
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