The latest Tottenham injury crisis has left Spurs panicking as Ange Postecoglou revealed they could have no fit centre-backs for their next fixture.
Spurs are facing the serious possibility of being without a single fit centre-back for Sunday’s game against Wolves after Ben Davies suffered a setback with his recovery.
The 31-year-old injured his hamstring on 5 December and has been out ever since.
Welsh international Davies was close to a return but now appears set for longer on the sidelines.
Speaking to the press on Friday, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou confirmed the setback.
He said: “No, he is ruled out. Unfortunately, he had a setback in training, so he’ll probably be out for a couple of weeks.”
Romanian defender Radu Dragusin limped off with an ankle problem as Spurs lost at Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day.
Tottenham are anxiously waiting on an assessment. If Dragusin is also ruled out, they will have no fit centre-backs in the senior squad.
Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are both out, with Postecoglou hoping Dragusin won’t join them at the weekend.
Postecoglou said: “[Dragusin’s injury is] a bit early to tell,
“He obviously tweaked his ankle last night and felt he couldn’t continue. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Tottenham Injury Update Leaves Spurs In Crisis
With Dragusin hobbling off in the closing stages against Forest, Spurs had to rely on Yves Bissouma and teenager Archie Gray – both midfielders – to fill in at centre-back.
Fullback Djed Spence would likely have been asked to move infield, but he is suspended for Sunday’s game.
Postecoglou told the media that this is the worst injury crisis he’s faced as a manager.
He said: “There’s always been issues at different times but not to this extent,
“I think we’ve had close to pretty consistently 10 first-team players not available for a significant run of games.
“We’ve been kind of getting through it for quite a while and keeping our fingers crossed we don’t get any more issues, but the nature of football and fixture scheduling we’ve had, we’ve always been on a fine line of being able to get through.
“It’s another test for us, but it is what it is, and whatever we need to deal with, we’ll deal with and get ready for Sunday.”
Tottenham have now lost nine of their 18 Premier League games, and sit 11th in the table.
With 23 points, they are now closer to the bottom three than Arsenal in fourth.
Spurs are still in the hunt for silverware, though. They face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-finals next month, with Postecoglou praising fans’ support through their recent tough period.
He added: “The fans love their football club, they care about their football club and they want their football club to succeed.
“They make those feelings and emotions seen.
“I haven’t felt anything but support since I have been here and I still feel that support is there.
“I will keep doing what I think is the right thing to bring success to this football club, that doesn’t change.”
