Ange Postecoglou says captain Son Heung-min is “unlikely” to be available for Tottenham’s trip to Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday.
The South Korea international, substituted with a hamstring injury during Tottenham’s Europa League clash with Qarabag last week, missed out on their victories over Manchester United and Ferencvaros.
Timo Werner could be in line for another start in place of the injured Son for Postecoglou’s team, who have won five successive matches in all competitions.
The Spurs boss revealed last week that it is not sustainable for 32-year-old Son to play every match across a full season.
Postecoglou, who managed his 50th match as Spurs manager on Thursday in the Europa League, said: “Destiny (Udogie), we think will be OK. We train today and tomorrow, so he has to get through that.
“Sonny is unlikely, he’s pushing hard, but the turnaround might be too quick for him to be available at this stage.”
James Maddison scored during Spurs’ win over Brentford last month and is showing signs of getting back to his best after much of last season was hampered by injury.
However, the midfielder was not selected in England’s squad for the upcoming matches against Greece and Finland by interim boss Lee Carsley and Postecoglou had words of encouragement to the former Leicester midfielder.
The 59-year-old said: “I’m sure he’s disappointed but he’s playing well, that’s all you can do.
“These things come along at times, it’s not always perfect in your career, you can’t always get what you want.
“He’s playing well for us, he’s been outstanding all year and has made an impact in every game he plays.
“I’m sure he’ll be selected again but you can’t put everything in one basket or be disappointed or let it affect the way he’s playing because he’s been brilliant for us.”
Dejan Kulusevski has been moved inside to a more central role this season, with Maddison dropping deeper next to Rodrigo Bentancur.
Postecoglou talked up the impact of the 24-year-old Swede, adding: “Deki is doing great. He’s been out of this world in many respects as to what he’s able to do in a central role.
“We used him wide last year because we didn’t have too many options out there and that’s where he was comfortable in. We started using him inside and I felt he felt that it unshackled him a little bit.
“He has an unbelievable capacity to run on and off the ball, his physical numbers are ridiculous and he has the quality to hurt teams with that.”
PA