Tottenham will head into the latest international break absolutely seething after experiencing a complete second-half meltdown against Brighton.
In-form Spurs went to the Amex Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday looking to notch a sixth consecutive win across all competitions, going in at half-time 2-0 in front after Brennan Johnson made it six goals in as many games before another effort from James Maddison.
However, what should have been a comfortable afternoon from there for Tottenham turned into anything but, with Yankuba Minteh and Georginio Rutter levelling the score before the hour and Danny Welbeck then popping up with what proved to be the match-winner to punish a dreadful defensive display from the visitors.
A furious Ange Postecoglou called it “unacceptable” and the worst defeat of his Spurs tenure so far, and the Australian will be demanding a swift reaction when they host rivals West Ham in a London derby straight after the international break, with games against AZ Alkmaar and Crystal Palace also coming up in addition to a high-profile Carabao Cup fourth-round showdown with Manchester City.
Here is the all the latest Tottenham injury news, with Destiny Udogie having recovered from a knock to play the full 90 minutes against Brighton on Sunday.
Heung-min Son
Spurs were without their influential captain as expected against Brighton, with manager Postecoglou having stated on Friday that he was unlikely to feature.
Heung-min Son has now missed Tottenham’s last three matches across all competitions after being forced off with a hamstring issue in the 3-0 Europa League win over Qarabag.
The Spurs boss said: “Sonny unlikely, he’s pushing hard but I just don’t think the turnaround will be quick enough for him to be available at this stage.”
Asked if Son could now be ruled out of South Korea’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Jordan and Iraq, he added: “Well yeah, if he doesn’t play for us its not like he’s close then it makes sense.
“But then again we have to be mindful, that international duty, national teams take over they are the custodians of their players but we’ve given them all of the medical information, they understand and they are understanding of the situation.”
Spurs will hope to have Son back against West Ham after he was pushing hard to be involved at Brighton.
Potential return date: October 19, vs West Ham
Richarlison
Richarlison has been absent for Spurs ever since suffering a calf issue in training before the defeat at Newcastle at the beginning of September.
A similar problem forced him to miss much of pre-season and prevented him from making more than late cameos off the bench during the early stages of the campaign, against Leicester and Everton.
Postecoglou advised a couple of weeks ago to stop asking about the Brazilian forward until he had another update to offer, revealing he was a “fair way off” having yet to resume training with the first team.
Before the trip to Brighton, the manager described Spurs’ non-Son and Udogie injuries - Richarlison and Wilson Odobert - as being “kind of long-term”.
Potential return date: November 2024
Wilson Odobert
Spurs’ surprise £25million summer signing from Burnley had started life well in north London and featured plenty during the early weeks of the new season.
However, he suffered a hamstring injury early on during the dramatic 2-1 Carabao Cup third-round win at Championship side Coventry last month and has been sidelined since.
Like Richarlison, it seems that Postecoglou regards Odobert as a “kind of long-term” injury, so it remains to be seen exactly when he will be back.
