Ange Postecoglou confirms two new injuries in squad ahead of Aston Villa visit.
Tottenham have been hit by two fresh injury concerns ahead of the visit of Aston Villa.
Pape Sarr was unable to join his team-mates in training on Friday after picking up an issue while on international duty with Senegal. The midfielder has been one of Spurs’ most impressive performers this season but can now be considered a doubt for Sunday’s game.
Sarr last week scored his first international goal in a World Cup qualifier against South Sudan.
Ashley Phillips, who is yet to make his senior debut after joining in the summer, has been sidelined for about a month after damaging his ankle while with England Under-19s.
Manager Ange Postecoglou said: “Young Ashley Phillips picked up an ankle injury with the England [Under-19] team. He’s out for a little while. We’re still assessing it but at least probably a month out.
“And we’re still checking on Pape Sarr, who has a bit of an issue coming back from the national team. We’ll see how he is [on Saturday]. He didn’t train today. Aside from that, [Yves] Bissouma is suspended but we’ll get Destiny [Udogie] back. I think everyone else is OK.”
After picking up injuries in the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea earlier this month, Postecoglou confirmed before the international break that summer recruits James Maddison and Micky van de Ven won’t play again until the new year.
The manager added: “Micky and Maddison, no real update — the same as a few weeks ago.”
The defender joins Maddison, Van de Ven, Richarlison, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon and Ivan Perisic on the sidelines, though Sarr has not been ruled out of Sunday’s game. Cristian Romero and Bissouma are suspended.
Tottenham absentees vs Aston Villa:
Romero – suspended
Bissouma – suspended
VDV – injured
Maddison – injured
Richarlison – injured
Solomon – injured
Perisic – injured
Sessegnon – injured
Phillips – injured
Sarr – doubtful.
Postecoglou’s side will be aiming to get back on track after successive defeats to Chelsea and Wolves before the international break saw them stumble from top spot to fourth in the Premier League.
Midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur has come off the bench in each of Tottenham’s last three games after returning from a major ACL injury suffered in February. He did start for Uruguay in their 3-0 win over Bolivia on Tuesday, however, and Postecoglou is upbeat over his player’s fitness.
The manager said: “He’s fine. He trained this morning, so it was good for Roddy to play. He was really keen to get back into the international team setup. He missed a lot with the national team and he feels, like most players, really proud of representing his country.
“The fact he got an opportunity to start is good for us gives him that confidence that he’s able to get through a game. That hasn’t happened with us, but he’s increased his game time, so I’m assuming he’s come out of it with even more confidence about his game and where he’s at. And that’s good for us.
“The key for Rodrigo is to get him back to that level physically and mentally where he feels really comfortable about playing at this level. I don’t think he is far off it, from what I’ve seen, and certainly over the next few weeks he will get that opportunity.”