Ange Postecoglou makes ‘dejected’ admission after training call ahead of Tottenham vs Sheffield United

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou says midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is making progress on his way back to full fitness but was ‘dejected’ when he got pulled out of training to ensure he does not rush his return.

The Uruguay international has not been involved since he injured his knee back in February but shared a picture of himself with the first team training on Thursday.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou expects him to be fully fit in November but revealed they had to take things slowly with him at the training ground this week. He told reporters ahead of the home game against Sheffield United. “Rehab is the toughest bit. Talk to any player, it is not just the work but the solitary element of it. He was buzzing yesterday but it is good.

“Fair to say he has a fair bit of work to do and great to have him involved. He was dejected of course when we had to pull him out of it after half an hour.”

The Tottenham boss also explained the decision behind naming Hugo Lloris in his 25-man squad for the season despite the goalkeeper openly admitting he was looking to leave for a new challenge.

Lloris had interest from Lille, Nice and Inter Milan but in the end, he stayed, and like Eric Dier, they will both fight for their spot in the team. Postecoglou told reporters: “ I think it was a fairly fluid situation. We weren’t sure what was going to happen with Hugo. Dier was never out of the squad.

“At the end of the window, we saw the numbers we had and there was room for both of them. They’ve been training with the squad so they continue to be part of it.”