Tottenham superstar Son Heung-min finally made his return to the lineup as a substitute over the weekend in the Premier League. Although Son could not help Spurs turn the tide of a match against local rivals Crystal Palace that they would lose 2-0, the South Korean superstar's ability to play 30 incident-free minutes was huge for Spurs.
In less than a week on May 21, Tottenham will face Manchester United in Bilbao for a Europa League Final between two fallen Premier League heavyweights that holds Champions League - and potentially Ange Postecoglou's future - implications on the line.
Postecoglou told reporters ahead of Friday's Premier League battle against Aston Villa, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, that Son will get some minutes against the Lions this week, "He'll definitely play tomorrow. Whether he'll start or not we'll see. He reacted well to Sunday and it makes sense to get him more match minutes whether it's starting or playing half of the game."
Son Heung-min should ideally get more minutes vs. Aston Villa
Ideally, Son would start against Aston Villa and play around 60 minutes as a tune-up for the Europa League Final, proving that he is fit to play against strong competition before a high-stakes match. That would represent a progression from around 30 minutes for Tottenham vs. Crystal Palace.
But not starting against Aston Villa doesn't necessarily make Son any less viable of a candidate to start in the Europa League Final vs. Manchester United. All Son needs is sharpness, and these Premier League games before the Man United match are all about making sure the 32-year-old is fully ready for his first important game since being shut down after the first leg of the quarterfinals vs. Eintracht Frankfurt.
The fact that Postecoglou is adamant that Son is able to play and is quietly confident he can push the club legend for more minutes on Friday night is definitely a positive sign. So far, all signs point to Son being ready for the Europa League Final, but with Tottenham's rotten injury luck (Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski, and James Maddison have all suffered season-ending injuries), the club will wait with baited breath as Son prepares for a little more action this week in the Premier League.
Obviously, the injuries to the aforementioned players, especially experienced attacking starters Maddison and Kulusevski, only increases the importance of Tottenham having Son fully available next Wednesday with the entire season on the line - and a little more than that in terms of club pride.