While Ange Postecoglou has again ruled Lucas Bergvall out of the Europa League final against Manchester United due to injury, some eagle-eyed Tottenham fans may still be holding out hope.
On their way to reaching a European showpiece, Spurs were dealt three cruel injury blows. The first of those arrived ahead of the semi-final first leg against Bodo/Glimt with Bergvall absent due to an ankle issue picked up in training.
James Maddison was then stricken down by a knee injury in that game and this past weekend,
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"Initially we thought it wasn’t too serious," "The medical team were worried structurally about how the knee was but it blew up the day after and we knew there was an issue there. He has had surgery and it will put him out for at least a few months."
Amid all the bad news, rumours began circulating that Bergvall was somehow back in training at Hotspur Way despite being in a protective boot just last week.
"No, it is still the same sort of timeframe," he said when asked if the midfielder has made a miraculous recovery. "He was never a long-term one but he has literally just got out of the boot and taken his first tentative steps on the grass but he won’t be available."
Just a few hours on from that update, Tottenham posted a 29-second video onto which showed 20 supporters club members meeting the players after watching them train on Wednesday.
Early into the clip, Bergvall is captured signing a shirt while wearing full Spurs training gear. Considering Postecoglou's comments and the injury suffered, it is likely he was training individually and is therefore some way off joining team training and returning to the fold, but that did not stop a Bergvall frenzy breaking out in the replies to the post.
With the final in Bilbao just six days away, it is very difficult to imagine he will be part of the travelling contingent, but until he is not spotted getting onto the plane or missing from training or team activities around the Basque region, hope he can return will surely remain for some.
"With Lucas, it looks like the injury is significant enough to probably keep him out now for the rest of the season," Postecoglou said at the start of the month when asked for the first time about Bergvall's injury. "He tweaked his ligaments in his ankle so he is out."
"It's something you see all the time," he added. "It wasn't a tackle, he was on his own, he just went to turn and his ankle gave way.
"It's one of those things, similar to Dom (Solanke, who suffered an injury earlier in the season) and others we've had in training. "These things happen."
A look behind the scenes & Postecoglou's big decision against Aston Villa. to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham!
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