Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma was carried off the pitch with a distressing injury just moments into his first game of the season on Sunday night. The 29-year-old had missed the start of the campaign due to a knee injury but had managed to regain fitness in time to be called up by Mali for this international break, joining them for their second World Cup qualifying match of the fortnight against Madagascar.
Bissouma joined the action at the Stade Modibo Keita in the 66th minute in what would eventually result in a 4-1 victory for Mali. He intercepted a stray pass from a Madagascar corner, only to be tackled by an opposition player as he attempted to dribble away with the ball, leaving him writhing in pain on the pitch.
The Tottenham midfielder was clearly in severe pain and looked distressed, clutching his left ankle and pounding the turf repeatedly with his other hand as the medical staff rushed over.
Bissouma pulled his shirt up over his head as his team-mates tried to comfort him. He was unable to leave the pitch unaided and needed a stretcher to carry him off.
The playmaker’s knee injury had dashed any hopes of a move away from N17 this summer. The former Brighton man’s contract at the north London club is now nearing its final nine months and Spurs were considering letting him go.
A transfer to Turkey and other Premier League clubs had been suggested, but Bissouma received no opportunities.
He had been excluded from the UEFA Super Cup squad at the start of the season by his new head coach Thomas Frank due to persistent lateness and then from his Champions League squad for the league phase of the competition.
Last month, after the transfer window closed, the Spurs boss stated: “There are no hard feelings at all. Not before, not now, not at all. Train well and everyone has an opportunity.
“He has just started to run outside, so he is not part of the group but everything I’ve seen when I’ve said hello to him and every day with the players, he seems good.”
Now, Bissouma appears to be dealing with another injury. If it is indeed an ankle problem as suggested by the footage, the Mali international has had a similar issue in the past.
He missed a significant part of his first season at the club due to a stress fracture in his left ankle which required surgery.