Hello, Cartilage Free Captain readers. Would you like an article about Tottenham Hotspur that doesn’t involve a transfer rumor? I’m so glad you asked, because I have one for you!
Argentina released their full roster for the upcoming international break which begins after this weekend’s round of Premier League fixtures. To nobody’s surprise, Cuti Romero was called up to represent his country. However, Giovani Lo Celso was NOT selected, and that is surprise.
However, according to multiple sources within the Argentina sports media, Gio’s omission is not because he is on the fringes of the national team, but because he apparently picked up an injury in the first half of Spurs’ loss to Fulham in the 2nd round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday.
Gio Lo Celso no está convocado por una molestia física.
— Gastón Edul (@gastonedul) August 31, 2023
I know a lot of Spurs fans saw Gio get subbed off at halftime for Dane Scarlett and just assumed that Ange rage-subbed him or didn’t see something he liked out of his performance, and that this indicated that Gio was about to be sold to Barcelona or something as a makeweight for Ansu Fati. But it seems like the reason is a lot simpler — he picked up a knock.
That’s obviously bad because we don’t want any Spurs players injured, but in a way it’s good too — it means that the reports that Big Ange actually likes Gio and expects him to be a contributor this season are still accurate, and a (hopefully minor) injury means that he won’t potentially get SERIOUSLY injured playing for Argentina on international break. Which seems to be what happens, often.
That’s fine. Gio was unlikely to feature much if at all this weekend at Burnley, and now he has the international break to rest and heal from whatever injury he picked up in the Cup. I still am excited that he’s part of Ange’s plans and think he could be a real asset, Fulham match notwithstanding.
Now back to your non-stop breathless coverage of transfer rumors, byeeeeeeeeeee!
