Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou was hit with a significant injury blow over the weekend.
Spurs are preparing for a tough run of fixtures as Ange Postecoglou bids to deliver Champions League football in his debut season.
Tottenham face a north London derby this Sunday before tough trips to Stamford Bridge and Anfield next week.
With Aston Villa currently six points ahead in fourth place, Spurs will have to make the most of their two games in hand. But Postecoglou will be without one key first-team player for the remainder of the season.
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Destiny Udogie set to miss remainder of the season
The full-backs are vital to Postecoglou’s system and Destiny Udogie has thrived in that inverted role this term.
Tottenham confirmed on Saturday that Udogie has picked up an injury in training and will miss the rest of the campaign.
The 21-year-old has undergone surgery on his left quadriceps and is expected to return to training during pre-season ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
It’s fair to say that this represents a huge blow to Spurs’ top-four hopes.
The Lilywhites lack another option at left-back who can perform in a similar role to that of Udogie.
The Italian full-back is expected to be sidelined for three months and it remains unclear who will step in for him.
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Ben Davies will surely start against Arsenal
With Ryan Sessegnon injured and Sergio Reguilon out on loan, Ben Davies feels like the obvious candidate to replace Udogie.
The £10 million Welshman performed well in Micky van de Ven’s absence at centre-back earlier this season. But his performances at left-back have been less convincing.
His last appearance in the position came back in February in a 2-1 defeat to Wolves where Spurs were without both Udogie and Pedro Porro.
Davies isn’t well-suited to that inverted role and we’re unlikely to see Postecoglou adjust his system in Udogie’s absence.
With that being said, Davies may be the only real candidate to step up over the coming weeks.
Van de Ven has operated at left-back during his spell at Wolfsburg but you’d imagine that Postecoglou won’t be keen on breaking up his and Romero’s partnership.