Ange Postecoglou’s list of Tottenham injury concerns appears to be growing bigger by the week with the issues in the squad highlighted by the options available to him on the bench this past weekend. Jamie Donley, Ashley Phillips and Alejo Veliz were all included in the matchday squad to face Liverpool with the latter even making his senior debut in the final minutes.
The front three of Brennan Johnson, James Maddison and Son Heung-min deployed by Postecoglou in last weekend’s North London Derby were all doubts heading into Saturday’s game with Johnson missing out against Liverpool. Despite both Son and Maddison playing a huge role in Spurs’ win over Liverpool, the duo remain fitness doubts ahead of the final fixture before the international break against Luton Town.
A number of important first-team stars are also dealing with long-term injuries that they will hopefully return from in the latter stages of 2023. The concern regarding injuries was also worsened last month when the club announced Ivan Perisic had suffered a serious knee injury which required surgery to fix.
With that said, football.london has rounded up the latest injury news from Hotspur Way with the potential return dates for many players ahead of Luton.
James Maddison
Maddison pulled up clutching his knee in the North London Derby against Arsenal but he was able to complete 89 minutes against Liverpool on Saturday, despite Postecoglou revealing he was a slight doubt.
What Postecoglou has said: “Madders and Sonny trained today, just finished the session and seemed to get through it not too bad. We’ll just have to see how they pull up as it’s fair to say they were a bit sore after last week and had a bit of an interrupted week training so just a matter of seeing how they pull up.
Son Heung-min
Spurs captain Son Heung-min was also a fitness doubt heading into the clash with Liverpool and an early substitution saw concern raised further. However, Postecoglou revealed the withdrawal was planned.
What Postecoglou has said: “Look, he wasn’t 100% but I had a chat with him yesterday and he was desperate to play. He was going to give what he could and he did. He was never going to play the whole 90, we were always going to give him an hour or so but he led from the front again and he was the one doing the pressing. He got his goal as well so great captain’s effort.”
Rodrigo Bentancur
Signed by Antonio Conte in 2021, Rodrigo Bentancur was a huge part of Tottenham achieving Champions League qualification last season, but he has been out of action since February 2023 after suffering an ACL injury. The Uruguay international has recently resumed partial training.
What Postecoglou has said: “All Rodrigo is doing at the moment is warm-ups with the teams so he’s not doing it on his own, but he’s not participated in any sort of meaningful training yet.”
What Postecoglou has said: “Obviously, it’s disappointing and it’s a massive blow to him. “He has been one of the guys since I have come in that you realise why they have had such a fantastic career and why they have had the longevity in terms of his ability to perform at the highest level and for the biggest clubs. It’s just an unfortunate thing; one of those things, a freak thing in training.
“It’s disappointing for him, disappointing for us because he has had a really strong start to the season. He gives us that experience which we don’t have a lot of that and you see that in the big games, the big moments – he’s been involved in pretty much all of them. So it’s disappointing for us as well.”
Expected return date: Spring 2024
Giovani Lo Celso
Giovani Lo Celso came off with a quad strain in Tottenham’s Carabao Cup defeat to Fulham in early September and he is yet to see a matchday squad since.
What Postecoglou has said: “[Giovani Lo Celso] is not available for this weekend [to face Arsenal]. He trained with us yesterday but we’re going to give it another week.”
Expected return date: October
Bryan Gil
Bryan Gil has yet to play under Postecoglou with a number of injuries keeping him out of the team.
What Postecoglou has said: “Yeah, like you’ve said he’s been a bit unfortunate in that pretty much since the start of pre-season he’s had a couple of injuries that haven’t allowed him to train with the team. He had a good year last year away from here and he certainly plays in a position where guys with his attributes can certainly fit into our structure
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