Roberto De Zerbi fears Mathys Tel could be sidelined for a significant period after the forward suffered a “bad injury” during Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Leeds.
Tel was on the receiving end of a heavy challenge from Leeds defender Jayden Bogle, who landed with his studs up on the Frenchman’s left Achilles as they contested for the ball shortly before half-time. Despite initially trying to play on, Tel eventually signalled to come off and was replaced by Dominic Solanke.
VAR review and aftermath
Bogle’s challenge was looked at by VAR, but after a four-minute review for a possible red card, officials opted not to send referee John Brooks to the monitor, and Bogle escaped punishment entirely.
Tel was later seen leaving Elland Road on crutches and with a protective boot on as he made his way to Spurs’ team bus, and De Zerbi admits the initial prognosis is not encouraging.
De Zerbi's response
“Bad injury, and now we have to make the medical check,” De Zerbi said in his post-match press conference. “In the next days we will know what is the problem.”
Asked whether VAR should have sent Brooks to the monitor to look at Bogle’s challenge again, De Zerbi insisted he still had full confidence in VAR. “No, I have big confidence in the referee,” De Zerbi said. “Nothing changes if he goes to watch the clip or not. I think there was the VAR, and if they didn’t take the right decision, I don’t know. But we have confidence, we have to keep our eyes on the performance where we can improve.”
