"?Tottenham Hotspur star Erik Lamela is reportedly being sent back to former club AS Roma by manager Mauricio Pochettino in order to cure his current injury woes.
The Argentina international moved to north London from the Serie A side in 2013 for £25.8m, but since then has been plagued by hip injuries, as well as family problems, that have limited his time on the pitch for Spurs, and made just nine appearances in his debut campaign.
But according to the "?Sun, the 24-year-old will return to Roma to try and fix the problem for good in time for the latter stages of the 2016/17 season, having made just nine appearances since August.
After missing out on yet another fixture as Lamela is out of the squad for the side's FA Cup fixture against Aston Villa on Saturday, Pochettino said: "He has gone to Italy now. He has strong links in Rome and we believe it was right for him to continue his recovery there.
"Always it's difficult for players who spend more time out than they believed. It is only him out at the moment and he is frustrated he cannot be involved with the rest of the group.
Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino sends Erik Lamela back to former club after injury woeshttps://t.co/5djD8mUxqG pic.twitter.com/5uYjT9Hj1H
"He has a special link with the physios and doctors in Rome. We say thank you to Roma for opening the door to him and helping to recover the player.
"We hope that in a few weeks maybe he will be available again to be involved in the training session with the rest of the group."?
Asked whether Lamela will play again this season, Pochettino replied: ""Yes of course. Yes, yes, yes."