EMERSON ROYAL is set to have surgery after damaging his knee playing for Brazil.
The Tottenham full-back, 24, limped off during the Samba Boys’ 2-1 friendly defeat against Morocco on Saturday.
He will now go under the knife in London with his recovery time expected to take up to six weeks.
That time frame should mean he will be back for the final few games of the season but he will miss a significant chunk of their remaining ten fixtures.
Royal had only just earned a recall to his national side after a barnstorming February for his club, in which he was nominated for the Premier League’s player of the month.
He scored the opener in the 2-0 win over West Ham that month and was a key player in the 1-0 win over Manchester City.
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Yet he had been left out of the starting line-up in favour of January signing Pedro Porro.
Tottenham are currently managerless following Antonio Conte’s departure on Sunday night.
The Italian was relieved of his duties after weeks of brutally criticising the Spurs brass and players in the press.
Royal had a good relationship with his former manager, despite admitting he could be very “explosive.”
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He told Globo Esporte: “As for Conte, I have a good relationship with him, he’s not that coach that we have a very close relationship with, of talking a lot, it’s his way,
“He’s a coach who wants to help everyone, instructs, he shows the role he wants in each one’s game.
“I don’t see any problem, I have a good relationship with him.
“Conte is a coach who has this explosive side of him, a personality he created, but he is a coach who tries to help us as much as possible.”
Tottenham will be back in action next Monday, travelling to Goodison Park to take on Premier League strugglers Everton.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
