Is Paulo Gazzaniga ready to springboard career after Lloris injury setback?

On what looked like an innocuous play, Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris dislocated his elbow and will be out of the lineup for up to eight weeks. 

Just when you though things couldn’t get worse for the Lilywhites, their captain goes down with an injury that is particularly bad for goalkeepers. Usually resistant to the injury bug, Lloris twisted awkwardly after gifting Brighton the lead just over two minutes into yesterday’s Premier League outing.

The team statement read as follows:

"“We can confirm that Hugo Lloris sustained a dislocated elbow during today’s match against Brighton.“Our club captain was stretchered off as a result of the injury and will now return to London this evening after being assessed at a local hospital.“Assessment will continue this coming week to ascertain the full extent of the injury and the length of time he will require to undergo rehabilitation.”"

Embroiled in the worst stretch of play since Mauricio Pochettino took over five seasons ago, Spurs, to have anything to play for upon their captain’s return, will need to band together and show the character that has been so obviously missing in recent weeks.

In Lloris’ absence, Paulo Gazzaniga stepped in admirably yesterday, ensuring Spurs didn’t lose by more than three. He will be thrown into the limelight in the coming months, especially in terms of the Champions League.

While relatively inexperienced, Gazzaniga enjoyed the best spell of his career last season. He started the 2018-19 as Spurs’ third choice goalkeeper, behind Michel Vorm in the pecking order. The Argentinian, however, made a splash in September that cemented his status as the club’s backup to Lloris.

He enjoyed a shootout-winning display against Watford in the Carabao Cup, played well in Premier League outings at Brighton and Huddersfield and made his Champions League debut in November, helping Spurs to a 2-1 home win over PSV. He also played at the Etihad against Manchester City in April. That said, there’s a substantial drop off from the French World Cup winner.

Then again, Lloris wasn’t exactly in vintage form when he was carried off on a stretcher yesterday. In fact the adage rubbing salt in his wound comes to mind, as Lloris was injured at the very same moment that he committed an embarrassing blunder which put his side well behind the 8-ball.

And it was by no means his first howler of the season.

Maybe Gazzaniga, 27, will take this opportunity to springboard his relatively muted career. By the current state of Tottenham’s defence, Gazzaniga will get every chance to prove his worth at the top level.