Tottenham entered the new season hoping to put last season’s injury woes behind them, but those challenges have unfortunately continued, impacting key players early on.
Rodrigo Bentancur picked up a head injury in the first game which kept him out of action against Everton.
Micky van de Ven also picked up a knock, however, fortunately it is not a very serious one and he is expected to be ready for selection against Newcastle.
Big money summer signing also picked up a knock from the Leicester game which saw him miss the 4-0 win over Everton. And while his injury is not a very serious one as well, he is expected to be out for the game against Newcastle as a precaution, as confirmed by Ange Postecoglou.
The manager delivered more bad news, confirming that Richarlison has picked up an injury which will see him miss out for the next few weeks.
Speaking to SPURSPLAY, he said:
“The only other one we got midweek is Richarlison, who unfortunately picked up an injury in training, so he’ll probably miss the next few weeks.”
Postecoglou highlighted the difficulties in managing Richarlison’s fitness, noting that the forward has been dealing with recurring injuries even before he joined Tottenham.
The coaching team had taken a careful approach with Richarlison, limiting his involvement in the pre-season and easing him back into the squad. However, this latest injury has unfortunately disrupted those efforts.
Speaking in the pre-match presser ahead of the weekend’s league fixture against Newcastle United, the Australian head coach commented: (as quoted by Football.London)
“Yeah, that’s it and that’s a challenge, I guess. It’s something we’ve got to look at again. He’s been in that cycle for quite a while and predating me, I guess. We’ve put a lot of thought [into it], we took a really sort of conservative approach with him. He didn’t play in any of the preseason games, and he’s really only played 20 minutes of first team football.
“But again, obviously he’s had a setback. So it’s something we just got to go back with Richy and work through the steps now of getting him back up and running, because you know, when he’s fit, he’s such a handful. Even last week that 20 minutes he played, you can see the options he gives us in that position. But like you said, it’s frustrating probably for him as much as anyone else but frustrating for us, too.
“But that’s the reason we brought Dom in, but obviously he picked up an injury in the first couple of games, but again it’s something we’ll work with Richy on.”
Despite the absence of both strikers, Tottenham will go into the game as favourites. Dejan Kulusevksi has proven his ability to play as a false 9 during the pre-season and can step up in the absences of Solanke and Richarlison. Heung-min Son is another option to fill in the role with Spurs now having options on the left-wing.