Tottenham will play Manchester United at home this weekend after beating Copenhagen 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday night. This comes after last weekend’s disappointing 1-0 loss to Chelsea. Meanwhile, United remain in good form having remained unbeaten in their last four Premier League games, including a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.
Coach Ruben Amorim’s team currently sits in eighth place in the league table. However, the injury reports for both teams are completely different. United go into Saturday’s game in relatively good health, but Spurs are not so lucky. Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Ben Davies, Radu Dragusin, Kota Takai and Archie Gray are excluded from the Spurs squad. Lukas Bergvall is also in doubt after sustaining a concussion against Chelsea.
According to FA guidelines, after an initial 24-48 hour period of ‘relative rest’, Bergvall will be allowed to gradually return to full daily activity. The 19-year-old midfielder is able to train, but only at a rate that does not worsen his existing symptoms. ”
Under the FA’s Gradual Return to Play (GRTP) program, Bergvall could be sidelined for at least 21 days. In addition, sporting bodies have established an “enhanced care pathway” for athletes aged 18 and over, which allows for RTP after 12 days or, if exceptional criteria are met, after seven days.
However, there is a glimmer of hope for Spurs as Mohamed Kudus, who was sidelined with injury on Tuesday, could be fit for this weekend’s game. However, it has been suggested that Tottenham manager Thomas Frank may have to wait and be concerned about the forward’s fitness.
Meanwhile, at United, Lisandro Martinez returned to full training last week, but it remains unclear whether he will be included in Saturday’s matchday squad.
Speaking on Thursday, Amorim admitted he was not worried about any new injuries. He said: “No, there is no change (to our approach to injuries).
“It’s one game every week and then it’s a bit of luck because sometimes players have knock issues and it’s not a soft tissue issue.
“So you never know what’s going to happen in the next training session. If you play with intensity in training, anything can happen, but the big reason…of course we’re trying to do everything well, but the big reason is (we) only have one game every week.”
“We’re willing to give guys an extra day if we know they’re going to have a hard time in the next practice. I think that’s the biggest reason.”
