Serge Aurier has picked up a hamstring injury while representing the Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations. The Tottenham defender came off against Morocco on Friday and gave a worrying update to reporters (h/t Football.London), saying: “I think (my tournament) may be over because I felt something. It may be a tear.”
It’s a blow for the Ivory Coast and for Tottenham. Pre-season is now underway at Spurs and Aurier could have been an important player for Mauricio Pochettino with Kieran Trippier having an uncertain future. The 26-year-old had an opportunity to fight for a starting place, but now he could be out for a number of weeks.
Aurier hasn’t been able to escape injuries in the last 12 months. He made just 17 appearances in all competitions in 2018/19 with a thigh injury, groin injury and hamstring injury decimating his playing time. The right-back’s last Premier League game was against Burnley on February 23 and his last Champions League outing was against Borussia Dortmund in the last-16 (March 3, 2019).
In 2019, he made only six appearances in all competitions, racking up less than 500 minutes of playing time. For now, Aurier’s aim is to make a swift recovery to ensure he doesn’t suffer a repeat of 2018/19,