Ange Postecoglou admitted that Pape Matar Sarr has had back problems since his return from the African Cup of Nations last month.
Sarr started Tottenham’s last games against Brighton and Wolves, but on Saturday against Crystal Palace the Senegalese centre-forward dropped to the bench as Postecoglou preferred the duo of Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur.
The 22-year-old replaced James Maddison in the 82nd minute as the home side looked to strengthen their defence after taking the lead.
Pape Matar Sarr has a back injury:
Although Sarr added a lot of energy to his performance and seemed to be moving well, he seemed to have some discomfort after the final whistle.
Postecoglou has now confirmed that the former Metz player has been having back problems for the last few weeks, explaining that although he is not 100 per cent, the problem has not stopped him from training.
Asked about Sarro’s discomfort, the Spurs head coach told Football.London: “Since he came back from some sort of African Cup of Nations, he’s had some problems with his back. He’s been dealing with it and it’s getting better but he hasn’t got rid of it completely so it’s something we’re working on with him.
“It doesn’t stop him from training, he’s still training but it’s limiting him, it’s something we’re constantly working on but from what I know he’ll be fine. Like I said, he hasn’t missed any training, so it’s something we are working on with him.”
Fortunately, it does not seem to be serious and it does not seem to be an injury that will get worse as the game goes on. Hopefully Sarr will be back to normal in a week or two.