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Ange Postecoglou revealed that James Maddison’s injury will keep him out until at least the end of the year, while Micky van de Ven will also be out until 2024.
Tottenham travel to Wolves for kick-off on Saturday afternoon following Monday’s 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea, and a string of injuries and suspensions will mean a much-changed outlook for Postecoglou’s Spurs at Molineux.
Earlier on Friday, Postecoglou claimed the Premier League’s Manager of the Month award for Spurs’ progress in October, his third such accolade in three months – but it’s no time for the Australian boss to enjoy it, due to the high number of injuries .
Postecoglou said: ‘Don’t get much time to enjoy the moment. Quite a bit happened after Monday evening. Micky with a hamstring injury that we knew was quite serious. We’re looking at a few months into the new year.
‘Madders are much worse than we first thought. Was bad the next day. Enter the new year with him again.’
Ange Postecoglou will have to make several changes when Tottenham travel to Wolves
Maddison was forced off during the first half of Tottenham Hotspur’s 4–1 defeat to Chelsea
Micky van de Ven is also out until New Year’s, after straining his hamstring on Monday
Richarlison underwent groin surgery this week to deal with a ‘chronic problem’ affecting his ability to play, although Postecoglou revealed at Friday’s press conference that it was ‘planned’ due to the international break, and that the Brazilian faces a ‘month out’ . .
In addition to injuries to Maddison and van de Ven on Monday evening, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie were sent off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and will therefore miss Saturday’s Premier League match against Wolves.
Postecoglou admitted: ‘It is perhaps the first time in my career that we have had such an upset after one match.
“We lost four or five starters in one game, three of our back four. That’s what affects us more than anything.
‘If it was just Micky you would miss him because of the qualities he has. It wouldn’t disrupt us that much. But we need to bring in three different players in a back four and that is the big challenge for us.”
The match, perhaps one of the strangest in Premier League history, was extended by a number of VAR checks regarding goals that were ultimately disallowed, as well as the penalty incident that gave Chelsea the first-half equalizer.
When Postecoglou was asked if the delays had exacerbated the problem of muscle injuries, he replied: ‘Absolutely. I’m not going to make a direct connection with Micky’s injury, but I was half tempted to throw some balls outside for them to kick around.
“That’s the reason we have warm-ups, but when you’re in a match, the fact that there was only 47 minutes of playing time last night, whatever it was, 110 (minutes), is not ideal for the type of athletes that we have.’
However, Ben Davies is back and available for Spurs ahead of Saturday’s game at Wolverhampton, while Pedro Porro has also trained with the first team.
Asked if he was tempted to change his view for one match with so many players injured or suspended, Postecoglou joked: “There’s always the temptation, but apart from chocolate, I’m pretty good at not giving in to temptation.” to admit.’
Instead, he said it was a chance for a host of other Spurs players to make their mark, namely Giovani Lo Celso, Bryan Gil, Rodrigo Bentancur, Oliver Skipp and Eric Dier.
The Australian said: ‘That’s why they trained hard. They trained with us, they were not separate from the group.
Giovani Lo Celso (L) and Bryan Gil are among those with chances to impress the manager
Tottenham striker Richarlison has undergone groin surgery to address a long-standing problem
“Everything we’ve done, we’ve done together. They have worked hard and what matters is that they are all prepared for the opportunity that presents itself.
“It’s fair to say that the opportunity is now coming to some of them. It is now up to them to seize that opportunity, but they have been preparing for it since day one.’
He added that ‘one or two’ academy players could be given the opportunity to be part of Wolves’ first-team set-up due to the number of Spurs players absent.
Tottenham are second in the Premier League going into next weekend’s matches, one point behind leaders Manchester City, who themselves face Chelsea on Sunday.