Ivan Perisic: Blow for Tottenham as Croatian star set to miss rest of season with ACL injury

Ivan Perisic will miss the rest of the season after suffering an ACL injury, Tottenham have confirmed. The 34-year-old will require surgery after being injured in training.

The club said: "We can confirm that Ivan Perisic has suffered a complex anterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee.

"The experienced Croatia international sustained the injury in non-contact training and will undergo surgery.

"Ivan will then commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff and is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season."

Perisic made his 50th appearance for Spurs in their 2-1 comeback win over Sheffield United on Saturday.

He was instrumental in gaining the three points, coming off the bench in the 80th minute to replace Manor Solomon. At the time, Spurs were 1-0 down, having conceded a 73rd minute goal through Gustavo Hamer.

Perisic provided the assist for fellow substitute Richarlison's equaliser in the 98th minute before being involved in the build-up for the winner, quickly flicking the ball to Richarlison, who then provided the assist for Dejan Kulusevski.

The 100th-minute goal marked the latest winning comeback by a side in Premier League history, surpassing Tottenham's own record back in 2022 when they stunned Leicester in injury time.

Up next, Spurs head to the Emirates to play Arsenal in the first north London derby of the season. Both sides are in good form, having each taken 13 points from their first five matches.

Many believed Tottenham could struggle this season after losing star striker Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, but new boss Ange Postecoglou has restored a front-foot style of play at the club, something that was missing when Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were in charge.

Speaking at a fan forum, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said: “I want to win as much as everybody else, but the frustration of not winning and the pressure from maybe some players and from a large element of the fan base, that we need to win, we need to spend money, we need to have a big manager, we need to have a big name, it affected me.

“I had gone through a period where we’d almost won. With Mauricio [Pochettino], we went through some very good times. We didn’t quite get there, but we came very close, and we had a change in strategy.

“The strategy was ‘let’s bring in a trophy manager’. We did it twice, and look, you have to learn from your mistakes. They’re great managers, but maybe not for this club.

“We want to play in a certain way, and if that means it has to take a little bit longer to win, maybe it’s the right thing for us. That’s why bringing Ange in was, from my point of view, the right decision.”

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