Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou issued a concerning update on James Maddison‘s fitness after Spurs’ 1-1 Premier League draw with West Ham United at the London Stadium.
The Lilywhites were pegged back by their capital counterparts on Sunday afternoon, as Wilson Odobert drew first blood before Jarrod Bowen stole a point for Graham Potter‘s side.
As was the case in last weekend’s defeat to champions Liverpool, Postecoglou made eight changes to his starting lineup for the derby, as the Australian prioritises this week’s Europa League trip to Bodo/Glimt.
A couple of Postecoglou’s alterations were enforced, as Dominic Solanke and Maddison both suffered injuries in the 3-1 first-leg win on Thursday, and neither made the squad to face West Ham.
Postecoglou suggested before the game that Maddison’s problem was more severe than Solanke’s, and the Tottenham boss had bad news to share on the former in Sunday’s post-game press conference.
Postecoglou admits Maddison injury does not look good
© Imago
“It doesn’t look great, but we’re just waiting for further information. We’ll just wait and see. Hopefully we’ll probably get some clarity tomorrow. It’s fair to say it doesn’t look promising but I’ll just wait and see,” football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying.
While an official diagnosis on Maddison’s injury is yet to arrive, Postecoglou’s admission suggests that the former Leicester City man will definitely miss Thursday’s second leg, and the rest of his season may also be at risk.
However, Postecoglou at least had better news to share on Solanke, who was seemingly omitted as more of a precautionary measure and is expected to be given the green light to take part in the second leg with Bodo/Glimt.
“Dom’s improving. We obviously left him out today but the medical team are pretty confident he should be right for Thursday,” the Tottenham head coach added.
Spurs are also waiting to learn whether Son Heung-min will be back from his foot problem in time to face the Norwegian outfit, but Lucas Bergvall (ankle) and Radu Dragusin (ACL) are both out for the season.
Who could replace Maddison against Bodo/Glimt?
© Imago
Barring an unforeseen miracle, Maddison will not be pulling the creative strings on the artificial pitch on Thursday night, depriving Tottenham of one of their goalscorers from a majorly positive first leg.
The 28-year-old has been directly involved in seven strikes in 11 Europa League appearances this season – three of his own and four assists – but Postecoglou can make a like-for-like change in the shape of Dejan Kulusevski.
The Sweden international has not yet been able to replicate his early-season form since returning from a foot injury, but he played the full 90 in midfield against West Ham and is in line to step in for Maddison here.
Kulusevski operating centrally would allow Postecoglou to stick with Brennan Johnson on the right, while Solanke will return up front if fit enough, but Odobert and Mathys Tel have made their case to replace Richarlison on the left after combining for the opening goal on Sunday.
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