Did Ivan Perisic just injure himself on international duty?

Hahahahahaha, this week man. Wow. Look what just flashed across my timeline — it’s a video from this evening’s EURO 2024 qualifying match between Turkey and Croatia. That person you see lying down on the ground in pain? Yup, that’s Ivan Perisic.

Perisic seems to be holding his calf, and Turkey’s Arda Guler goes over and tries to help stretch him out, assuming it’s a cramp. But Perisic’s reaction makes it look a little worse than just a cramp, right? Perisic was subbed out in injury time of this match, btw. And while I’m not a doctor, this guy is and seems to think it might be worse as well.

Now look, before we pull the fire alarm and set our pants on fire, we need some extra context. Maybe this WAS just a cramp. Maybe he was time-wasting! There are all sorts of reasonable explanations as to why a 34-year old Tottenham player might be rolling on the ground holding his le... ohhhhhhhhhh god.

Lest I remind you, if Perisic is injured Tottenham have literally one healthy wing back at the club — Pedro Porro. Ryan Sessegnon, Ben Davies, and Emerson Royal are all out with injuries of their own, and now maybe Perisic. I have no idea what you do if Ivan can’t play against Everton. Maybe you promote a youth player, though that seems rather unlikely and super dangerous. More likely is we’ll see an attacking midfielder temporarily converted into a wingback. Maybe Lucas Moura? Or, better yet, I understand we have someone named “Arnaut Danjuma” at the club, maybe he’s an option.

Wingbacks. Who needs ‘em? Not us, obviously!