Tottenham’s injury crisis has further deepened leaving the club’s Australian coach Ange Postecoglou without a fit centre-back for their next Premier League match with in-form Wolves.
Spurs were already without Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies for Thursday’s 1-0 Premier League loss at Nottingham Forest, but their issues were compounded when Radu Dragusin was forced off with an ankle problem.
It meant Tottenham finished the game with midfielders Archie Gray and Yves Bissouma at the heart of defence, and they could continue against Wolves after veteran Davies suffered an untimely setback.
“No, he is ruled out. Unfortunately he had a setback in training, so he’ll probably be out for a couple of weeks,” Postecoglou said of Davies.
Full-back Djed Spence received a second yellow card on his return to the City Ground on Boxing Day to leave Postecoglou short of options in defence.
He said: “We’re in a tough spot and we have been for a while.
“We’ve been kind of getting through it for quite a while and keeping our fingers crossed we don’t get any more issues, but the nature of football and fixture scheduling we’ve had, we’ve always been on a fine line of being able to get through.
“It’s another test for us but it is what it is, and whatever we need to deal with, we’ll deal with and get ready for Sunday.”
Former Soccerros boss Postecoglou acknowledged this period is the worst he has faced in his lengthy managerial career with Spurs potentially without nine players for the clash against Wolves, which has been a regular occurrence throughout December.
A new era of the UEFA Champions League is here, only on Stan Sport.
“There’s always been issues at different times but not to this extent. I think we’ve had close to pretty consistently 10 first-team players not available for a significant run of games. Definitely a first for me,” the 59-year-old said.
While there is a hope Dragusin could recover to face Wolves, Postecoglou was again asked about why there is no (English) winter break this season.
“I think you are seeing with the league this year and that’s probably why it is so congested because a lot of teams – probably not to our extent – are affected by injuries,” he said.
“It is quite easy to pinpoint why. The workload players are expected to perform at, but I guess that’s one for the authorities to sort out.”
Meanwhile, Ruben Amorim knows his job will be in danger if Manchester United continue to struggle, but the head coach is comfortable with the pressure.
Initial promise after succeeding Erik ten Hag has dimmed as the Red Devils look to bounce back from a third successive defeat in all competitions when they host Newcastle at the end of a topsy-turvy year.
Last week’s Carabao Cup quarter-final exit at Tottenham was compounded by a 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth and a bruising 2-0 loss at Wolves on Boxing Day, leaving United 14th in the Premier League.
Ten games into his reign, where they have won four, lost five and drawn one, the former Sporting boss has struggled to ignite United’s season and his stuttering side are 14th in the table.
The spotlight is on the players more than recently appointed Amorim right now, but he knows the scrutiny on him will increase so long as the rotten run continues.
Ruben Amorim. (Photo by Diogo Cardoso/Getty Images)
“The manager of Manchester United can never, no matter what, be comfortable, and I know the business that I’m in,” said the United boss, whose successor at Sporting Lisbon, Joao Pereira, has already been sacked.
“I know that if we don’t win, regardless if they pay the buyout (for me) or not, I know that every manager is in danger and I like that because that is the job, so I understand the question.
“You can argue that I have been here one month and I’ve had four training (sessions), but we are not winning. That is the reality and I’m quite comfortable with that.”
Amorim spoke of having to survive this tough period after losing for the fifth time in 10 matches – defeats that have all come since he warned of an impending storm despite a positive start.
Turning around United was always going to be tough mid-season and led him to being asked if he had foreseen these kind of issues when he initially asked if he could finish the season with Sporting Lisbon.
“There’s no point talking about that or thinking about that,” Amorim said. “I’m here and have to focus on the job.
“It’s part of football to have these difficult moments. I already knew that was going to be tough.
“At this moment it’s really hard. We have to survive to have time and then to improve the team.”
Amorim had a steely determination as he faced the media after the loss at Wolves, where Matheus Cunha scored directly from a corner shortly after skipper Bruno Fernandes’ sending off.
That goal continued United’s trend of conceding from set pieces, with the Portuguese saying the must learn to “use the rules to score goals” rather than moan about the situation.
“Those are the rules and we must not cry about it, but do the same thing,” he said.
“So, we have to focus on doing the same thing to the opponent – that is my goal at the moment.”
United will look for improvement when they host in-form Newcastle, who head to Old Trafford buoyed by a 3-0 win against Aston Villa.
© AAP