Silver Linings Abound for Tottenham in Dele Alli's Premier League Ban

Dele Alli's first Premier League season is over after the Football Association imposed a three-match suspension for his violent conduct against West Bromwich Albion's Claudio Yacob. 

Tottenham's pursuit of the league title all but ended with the 1-1 draw against the Baggies, but Alli's tussle with his Argentinian shadow has demanded coverage in aftermath. 

Not for the first time this season, Alli was guilty of an unnecessary, violent reaction. For the first time, he was caught. 

Alli has rapidly evolved from a youngster with great potential to a vital player capable of creating chaos for opposition defences while himself working hard in defence. 

His absence away to Chelsea, at home against Southampton and in the final game of the campaign against Newcastle will be strongly felt. 

It is not all bad news for Tottenham and their mischievous young star. 

Alli has played 3,224 minutes in his first season in senior football. That is the equivalent of nearly 36 full games and, particularly playing in Mauricio Pochettino's demanding system, has surely tested his adolescent stamina. 

The history of football is replete with youngsters damaged by playing huge amounts of football while still developing. 

Alli is a certain selection for England's UEFA European Football Championship campaign in the summer, meaning he will get only a minor break before returning to pre-season training. 

This suspension means that Alli will have a full six-week break between his last Spurs appearance and England's Euro 2016 opener against Russia. 

If that break helps him perform for England, that will still benefit Tottenham in the long run, but this time off will be crucial for his recovery from a gruelling campaign. 

"

Gutted that my season is over. Shouldn’t have reacted like I did. Will learn from this and come back stronger.

— Dele Alli (@Dele_Alli) April 28, 2016"

Shortly after his suspension was made official, Alli produced the above tweet, and Spurs fans will be hoping that the contrition is genuine. 

After a similar act of indiscretion against Fiorentina in the Europa League, Alli defended himself. The combative midfielder told the Press Association, per the Guardian, "Do you need an aggressive streak to thrive? You could say that. A lot of the great players have that mentality. I want to be the best I can and if that’s what I need to do it, that’s what I do."

At the time, Pochettino also backed Alli, saying "he has a lot to learn about elite football."

That is the potential secondary benefit of this sanction. 

If Alli learns to better control and channel his aggression as a result of sitting out these final weeks of the season, Tottenham will be better off. 

Like David Beckham and Wayne Rooney before him, Alli has the talent and work ethic to go to the absolute top of football, but his mentality is still underdeveloped. 

There is another benefit to Alli's imposed time out of the first team. 

£22 million summer signing Heung-Min Son should get a three-game run in the team. The South Korean forward hasn't started three consecutive matches since November, and he played the full 90 minutes in none of them. 

Jon Super/Associated Press

Despite a fitful first year in England, Son has been far from a failure. 

Eight goals and 10 assists is a fine return given that Son missed Tottenham's pre-season and has played little over half of the minutes that Alli has enjoyed (1717). His best performances have come in the Europa League where refereeing interpretations are more similar to his experience in Germany. 

There is no doubting that Son has the talent to be a force in the Premier League. However, he has struggled with the physicality of English football and simply needs time to acclimatise. 

Alli's enforced absence should bring Son three games closer to his best and, if he can produce that form in these closing weeks of the season, could create a selection headache for Pochettino next season. 

Son will be one of the few Tottenham players to enjoy a full summer and uninterrupted pre-season, so these three games could set him up for a big second season at White Hart Lane. 

Fabrizio Giovannozzi/Associated Press

This suspension will have little negative impact on Spurs. 

They should be able to acquire the requisite points to retain second place without Alli and the accompanying benefits ought to outweigh the pain of his absence. 

If he returns fit after a strong summer with England, having learned a valuable disciplinary lesson, he'll be an even better player than the one recognised by the Professional Footballers' Association last week. 

If his absence helps Son find his best form in the Premier League too, this will have been a fortuitous suspension indeed.