Tottenham Hotspur have been ravaged by injuries this season, and one of their latest significant injuries was to Swedish center midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who went down in a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League with an ankle injury.
Like with Mohammed Kudus and Rodrigo Bentancur, Bergvall ended up being diagnosed with a muli-month injury after what initially seemed like just a knock. Bergvall was not as important as he should have been under Thomas Frank and got miscast by the Danish manager as a No. 10, but he is still one of Tottenham's best and more important pieces in a midfield that has played below its talent level this season. And in the 2024/25 campaign, Bergvall was vital to winning the Europa League before his first significant injury.
Bergvall's latest injury didn't just have Tottenham worried about competing this season with the threat of relegation looming due to rampant losses. No, Spurs had to be worried about Bergvall's health, too, because he is only 20 years old and now already has a couple of injuries on his legs, including this latest ankle issue which did require surgery.
Lucas Bergvall is out for another six weeks
Finally, though, Tottenham are getting a bit of a reprieve and some positive news on Bergvall for a change. According to Swedish outlet Fotboll Direkt, the young Tottenham star is shedding his protective boot and actually making tangible progress on the injury. His timeline for a return is now in six weeks, which would put him at a return in April. That would be around two months from his injury in late January against Dortmund, which is on the lower end of the intiial, rough timeline of two to three months that was given.
Tottenham are going to have to make do with the likes of Joao Palhinha, Archie Gray, Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, and new signing Conor Gallagher in the center midfield positions for the next couple of months. Of those players, Gallagher, Bissouma, and Sarr are, like Bergvall, box-to-box profiles.
It's hard to say how Spurs will look without Bergvall since a lot has changed in the time since he has been injured, most namely Spurs finally fired Thomas Frank after they got embarrassed by Newcastle. So heading into the North London Derby this weekend, it's anyone's guess as to how Igor Tudor will line the midfield up and who he trusts.
But for most players, it can't get any worse than whatever Frank was doing as manager. Bergvall may feel that sentiment more than most of his teammates, because he was probably the most maligned of the young stars in the midfield, as only Mathys Tel had a bigger bone to pick with Frank's selection.
So far, Bergvall is trending in the right direction. Thankfully, it appears the surgery went well and he is hitting all the right benchmarks in his recovery. And when he comes back, he will presumably get to play more heavy metal football under Tudor than whatever Frank was making him pretend to be. With six more weeks remaining, that puts Bergvall in contention for Sunderland on Apr. 11. In addition to the North London Derby, that means Bergvall will likely miss games against Fulham, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.