Tottenham handed significant defensive boost as key star tipped to face Man Utd

Rob McCarthy 10 Feb 2025 4:41 PM

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou

Tottenham Hotspur look set to welcome back at least one of their key defenders for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Manchester United in a rare piece of good news for Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs were still missing Cristian Romero, Micky Van de Ven and Destiny Udogie in the two Cup defeats to Liverpool and Aston Villa, while Radu Dragusin is expected to be out until the end of the year with his ACL issue.

Van de Ven did return for 45 minutes against Elfsborg in the Europe League but has not been seen since as Tottenham manage his workload over concerns of another setback.

And while there is a slim chance of the Dutchman taking on the Red Devils, given that Spurs actually have a free midweek week for only the second time since August, Romero appears to be further away as he continues to build up his fitness after his quadriceps injury.

However, there is better news on Udogie, who has been out of action for the last six weeks after damaging his hamstring against Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 29.

Spurs have only won once in the league since that 2-2 draw, with Postecoglou desperate to get some of his key performers back as he battles to secure his job in north London.

Italy international Udogie has played 23 games across all competitions this season, although his form prior to his injury was not the best and his return would give Postecoglou a real selection dilemma.

During the club’s struggling run of results, Djed Spence has arguably been Tottenham’s best player – largely playing out of position at left-back to cover for Udogie.

If Udogie is fit, Postecoglou could always switch Spence back to his natural right side and drop Pedro Porro down to the bench, given the number of games that the Spaniard has played during the club’s injury crisis.

In terms of who else could return against United, it’s looking unlikely that the likes of Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, Richarlison, Timo Werner and Dominic Solanke will be available for what is arguably a must-win game given the club’s poor league position.

Tottenham are currently 14th in the Premier League table after 24 games, 10 points off the relegation places as they look to get back to winning ways.

Postecoglou adapts training schedule

After admitting that his players were too fatigued to play a full press in the Villa FA Cup defeat, it’s emerged that Postecoglou has made a decision to help his squad regain some freshness before they return to league action after defending them for their efforts in Sunday.

Speaking after the match, he said: “People can judge me. They can say I’ve done a bad job, I’m not up to it or whatever. That’s fine. What I’m saying is you can’t be critical of our players’ performances at this time.

“If you want to measure anything on what they’re doing at the moment, other than the extreme situation they’re dealing with, then I think your analysis is skewed and it’s not objective.

“If it’s to get rid of me that’s fine. Good on you. Go for it a million times. But in terms of this group of players, what they’ve given over the past two and a half months has been outstanding.”

The Telegraph has now revealed that the Australian has decided to give his players both Monday and Tuesday off as he attempts to hit the reset button on the season.

The majority of the squad are expected to return to Hotspur Way on Wednesday to restart their preparations for the upcoming clash against Man Utd.