Tottenham Hotspur knew they would be short-handed coming back from the international break, now injuries have presented a whole new challenge.
With the fiasco that is CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, Tottenham Hotspur knew they would start the return from the international break down a few players. However, a number of new injuries picked up during the international action may force Nuno Espirito Santo’s hand in terms of who he uses where. So who is out and who might be out for Tottenham?
South Americans were always going to miss time
Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero, and Davinson Sanchez are all now in Croatia. The three men are working to run down the clock on Covid restrictions and simultaneously keeping up their fitness to ideally re-integrate into the squad as soon as possible, with the run Tottenham is facing.
There have been some reports from The Athletic that the club is going to levy a fine on the players for going but no official source was quoted. With the World Cup coming this is going to be a problem all season and everyone is going to have to figure out how to deal with it best.
Tottenham is a bit short at center-back
With both Romero and Sanchez out and Cameron Carter-Vickers now out on loan at Celtic, it means Japhet Tanganga is going to have to shift into center-half or we might finally see Joe Rodon. The extent of his injury was never made clear but Rodon has only played 17 minutes since going 90 for Wales in their 0-4 loss to Denmark in Euro 2020.
As we get closer to the game we will get a better sense of how available Rodon is, which is important because we know Sanchez and Romero are out at a minimum through the Conference League game next Thursday.
We knew going in that the Spurs were going to be short-handed at center-half, however, as the international break has continued, Tottenham players have come up a bit worse for wear.
Several Spurs need to see the physio
Over the last day and a half, Tottenham has really taken a beating in terms of the health of the squad. The first Tottenham injury was from the England U-21 squad, where Ryan Sessegnon was again injured, picking up a knock in training.
Sessegnon started the season behind as he was injured early in the preseason and has been working to catch up ever since. With solid depth at left fullback and a growing number of left wings in the squad, Sessegnon’s injury probably hurts him more than it hurts Tottenham right now.
Sessegnon has a history of injuries and has only played about 140 minutes between the two Conference League playoff games. Picking up a knock now has to be particularly disappointing given the next Spurs player who apparently picked something up.
Heung-Min Son reportedly picked up a calf issue in training with South Korea. The injury was diagnosed as a sprain and he was simply left out as a precaution according to the KFA.
While the diagnosis is positive, the idea of Son missing any time, let alone significant time with an injury would be quite devastating to the team. Now is not the time to panic but it certainly looks like it may be another opportunity missed by Sessegnon.
Injuries kept piling up for Tottenham on Tuesday
Sessegnon’s injury with the U-21 English team was prior to their match with Kosovo, unfortunately, during that match is when Oliver Skipp went down.
Skipp was subbed out at the 83rd minute with a groin issue. How severe the groin problem is we do not yet know but like Son’s calf, it is not a good sign, particularly this early in the season.
While not necessarily injured, Steven Bergwijn was recalled to the Netherlands team and then started Tuesday against Turkey play just over an hour. After being substituted Bergwijn was photographed with a large ice pack on his ankle. Whether that was precautionary or something else, we are likely to find out in the coming days.
So best case scenario on Saturday, Tottenham is down a couple of defenders and Lo Celso. The worst-case scenario is quite different and could see the Spurs down as many as seven players, barring additional injury of course.