Alderweireld Just First Tottenham Injury with Upcoming Games
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Hotspur star defender Toby Alderweireld is just the latest player to go down injured from the tireless schedule players face and will not be the last.
For Tottenham Hotspur Toby Alderweireld’s injury is just the latest example of what can happen when a player is overworked and under rested. While it is unclear exactly how long Alderweireld will be out for, the one thing we do know is he will not be the last player to be injured in the coming weeks as the schedule picks up steam. The question becomes how well Tottenham will cope and what the powers that may be in professional football do to protect their investment because at this point injuries are inevitable.
Injuries Happen More when Overworked
Injuries happen. They are an unfortunate part of sports, particularly professional sports where players are pushed to their physical limits. This is especially true in professional football, where players are often overworked physically. Many footballers are playing for their nations in addition to playing for clubs both domestically and in Europe. This was the case for Alderweireld and while Mourinho was right, when he said this stuff does just happen, it happens more often when players are overworked.
Alderweireld’s injury is particularly devastating to Spurs as he was playing fantastic football and the team is a bit short at that position, particularly in Europe. Hopefully Japhet Tanganga will be returning soon, which will add depth especially in Europe where Joe Rodon is not eligible to play. Regardless because Alderweireld is down, everyone else will have to play more.
When everyone else is playing more, the susceptibility to injury increases. Last year, Spurs lost several players over the December – January period including Moussa Sissoko, Harry Kane, and Heung-Min Son. Sure, Son’s injury was a freak accident with his broken arm, but the fact he had to finish that fame to begin with speaks to how thin the team became because of injury. Anyway, the injuries to Kane and Sissoko were examples of players not getting the adequate rest that a body demands.
Tottenham Not Alone in Injury Battle
What really makes this difficult is Tottenham are certainly not alone in this situation. If you saw or heard Jurgen Klopp after the Liverpool match yesterday he was quite upset over the mounting injuries at Liverpool. Klopp was particularly scathing of the British broadcasters and the demands put on not just his squad but all the top teams. The reality is, things are likely not changing from a TV perspective as it is about ratings and while according to Klopp not just anyone can show up in a red Liverpool shirt and perform, the networks do not see it that way.
The truth is, money drives the sport and much of that money comes from the broadcasting rights and if having a certain red or blue or green or yellow shirt on the pitch is going to lead to more viewing thus more revenue, that is what will happen. Unfortunately, a by-product of this constant need for more, is more – more injuries.
As a Spurs fan you just hope that the squad is deep enough and does well enough when rotated to continue the rotating, which will hopefully help keep much of the squad healthy. If not, then expect more injuries, which is not good for anyone, particularly a team with ambitions to win some trophies like Tottenham Hotspur. Until then, we just hope for the best knowing the next injury is just a matter of when, not if.