Over the weekend, Tottenham Hotspur’s issues both on and off the field persisted. Spurs dropped to fifth place in the Premier League on Sunday after suffering their third straight loss at the hands of Aston Villa under Ange Postecoglou.
This season, the North Londoners had won eight of their first ten games, but then a string of bad things has happened. Before the international break, Wolves beat Chelsea 4-1 while down to nine men and then scored two goals in injury time.
Another injury scare doomed Spurs’ 2-1 loss to Villa on Sunday, another goal that put them ahead and out of contention. With just 11 players available for the weekend, Postecoglou’s decisions from the bench were quite telling.
Cristian Romero and Yves Bissouma were suspended, and James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon, Richarlison, Pape Sarr, Ashley Phillips, and Alfie Whiteman were all sidelined by injuries.
Spurs will be hoping to welcome Sarr back sooner rather than later, but the others all face a longer period out. Against Villa, Spurs had teenage duo Alfie Dorrington and Jamie Donley on the bench.
And at the weekend, Rodrigo Bentancur suffered yet another injury scare. The midfielder was forced off after being on the end of a rough tackle from Matty Cash.
He tried to run it off after receiving treatment but he was replaced by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the 32nd minute. “Yeah, not sure,” Postecoglou said after the game. “It is his ankle I think. It wasn’t a great tackle.
“I thought he started the game so well and I think it was the reason we got a real good foothold on the game. He’s such a creative player. It’s the last thing we needed, another injury. So disappointed to lose him but we’re yet to see the extent of it.”
He tried to run it off after receiving treatment but he was replaced by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the 32nd minute. “Yeah, not sure,” Postecoglou said after the game. “It is his ankle I think. It wasn’t a great tackle.
“I thought he started the game so well and I think it was the reason we got a real good foothold on the game. He’s such a creative player. It’s the last thing we needed, another injury. So disappointed to lose him but we’re yet to see the extent of it.”