Rodrigo Bentancur has made a surprise return to Tottenham’s starting XI (Image: Getty)

Ange Postecoglou has praised Rodrigo Bentancur’s “super” and quick recovery after he made a surprise return to Tottenham’s starting XI.

Spurs host Bournemouth on New Year’s Eve and will be looking to end 2023 on a high after a dismal 4-2 defeat at Brighton last Thursday.

Postecoglou has made two changes to his team after the defeat at the Amex: Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and the suspended Dejan Kulusevski are out.

Their places will be taken by midfield duo Giovani Lo Celso and Bentancur, with the latter’s arrival set to come as a shock to everyone.

The Uruguay international wouldn’t even be in the squad, let alone starting, after suffering a serious ankle injury in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the end of November.

The 26-year-old had just returned from a cruciate ligament injury that sidelined him for eight months and this new problem could keep him out for another two months.

As such, his return was not expected until February, but he appears to have miraculously recovered to play against the Cherries.

Bentancur suffered an ankle injury in November (Photo: Getty)

Speaking about Bentancur’s surprise inclusion in the line-up, Postecoglou told Sky Sports before kick-off: “It’s great. He’s had a good week of training and we had a good chat with him yesterday and he’s keen to come back.”

“All the injured guys are a little frustrated.” It will help us to have fresh legs with him and Gio in the middle.

“We are starting to make progress, but it will only be a good thing if it continues. We are going through a difficult period at the moment, especially when it comes to the friendliness of the players, but overall our performance was strong.”

‘She [Bournemouth] things have been going well for a while. We played the last game here against Everton and it was similar.

“We know it will be a challenge, but that’s the Premier League. Every match is an opportunity to stumble. “We have to do our best to get a result.”

Bentancur’s return could be a big boost for Spurs, but there are still numerous players injured, including James Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.