Ange Postecoglou is working with a extremely thin Tottenham squad which has further depleted in the last month following the injury crisis at the club.
Tottenham are missing nine players right now, all through injuries except for Romero who is going to serve the last of his suspension against Manchester City this weekend.
They do now have any proper centre-back after the injury to Micky van de Ven which is going to see him on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.
Dier is the only natural centre-back they have but he has not been able to impress Ange who despite out of options, preferred to start right-back Emerson Royal as a makeshift centre-back over the England defender.
In midfield, Maddison picked up a long-term injury as well which will see him out till January while Pape Matar Sarr returned form the international duty with an issue and is a doubt as well.
Bentancur’s return was a big boost for Spurs last week but the joy only lasted 29 minutes as he suffered an ankle injury from a rash Matty Cash tackle which is now going to be see him miss another two and a half months of football.
Bissouma missed the last game from suspension having picked his 5th booking of the season against Wolves. He will be back against City and will be partnering with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the midfield, another player who is not in Ange’s plans but will have an important role to play amid the injury crisis.
The attacking front isn’t spared either, with Solomon and Perisic sidelined, while Richarlison’s anticipated return by Christmas offers a glimmer of hope.
As the injury crisis mounts, Postecoglou faces the added worry of potential suspensions looming over key players. Pape Matar Sarr, Destiny Udogie, and Hojbjerg, having accumulated three bookings each, are skating on thin ice.
As Football London reports that another two bookings in the next six games for the trio would further aggravate the manager’s woes, resulting in suspensions.
With the festive period’s hectic schedule looming, Postecoglou’s primary concern remains steering the team through the injury storm while carefully navigating the perilous suspension predicament to avoid further setbacks in crucial fixtures.