Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has been suspended for seven matches, including Liverpool’s visit to north London in December.

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

Liverpool have several domestic and European matches to play before they can consider preparing for their visit to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. At least now they have received a first indication as to who might not be able to queue for their hosts.

The FA intervened with the lengthy ban after an investigation opened earlier this year. Bentancur was charged with “aggravated violation” of the governing body’s rules following comments made in Spanish on Uruguayan television about Spurs his teammate Son Heung-min.

LEARN MORE: Liverpool told why ‘immature’ David Coote should not lose his job amid PGMOL investigationLEARN MORE: I now teach people cryptography after regaining my freedom, but Liverpool will always stay with me

His host asked him for a Spurs player’s jersey, to which the midfielder replied: “Sonny’s? It could also be Sonny’s cousin because they all look the same.”

This immediately put him in a sticky situation in England and the repercussions have only just been resolved. Bentancur is expected to be ruled out of his club’s next seven domestic matches, including the Reds’ next. Premier League meeting with Spurs on December 22.

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

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

December 22 will mark the first time Liverpool return to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since their last visit to the Premier League. Controversy was rife that day Luis Diaz saw a perfectly legitimate goal canceled after VAR ‘human error’Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were controversially sent off, then in stoppage time a home winner inflicted a first defeat of the 2023/24 campaign.