Dele Alli sees red on nightmare return after 2-year absence

Dele Alli was shown a red-card less than 10 minutes into his return to football.

Former Tottenham Hotspur ace Alli had gone two years without making an appearance in professional football before making his comeback for Serie A side Como against AC Milan.

Introduced 10 minutes from time, Alli was shown red for a clumsy tackle on fellow English star Ruben Loftus Cheek in stoppage time. The midfielder was initially shown yellow by the referee, but that was upgraded to red following a VAR check.

Another of his former England colleagues, Milan full-back Kyle Walker, appeared to try and talk Marchetti into showing lenience but the decision was already made.

Dele will now face a ban, just a few minutes into his return to competitive football.

The 28-year-old has opened up about his personal struggles during his lengthy absence from the game, revealing he was sexually abused as a child and later suffered from mental health issues and sleeping pill addiction.

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