Jose Mourinho is confident Tottenham Hotspur will be able to cope with a potential injury crisis this term, which wasn’t the case last season
Toby Alderweireld has picked up a groin injury that will keep him on the sidelines for around four weeks, while Erik Lamela struggles with an Achilles tendon rupture.
The duo will, therefore, skip Thursday’s Europa League match against Ludogoerts as well as the weekend’s Premier League showdown against Chelsea.
Matt Doherty has returned to the fold after contracting coronavirus on international duty but is unlikely to start tonight.
Joe Rodon, Paulo Gazzaniga, Danny Rose, and Gedson Fernandes are all ineligible, which leaves Mourinho short of options ahead of the Ludogorets clash.
A similar problem tormented Tottenham last season, which eventually proved fatal to Spurs’ hopes of landing a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Before Tottenham played Man City, José Mourinho told Sergio Reguilón that he would buy him a ham if he could stop Riyad Mahrez:
— Football Tweet (@Football__Tweet) November 25, 2020
🗣️ Mourinho on IG: "A promise is a promise. It costed me £500 but I keep my promises." pic.twitter.com/PPNhxadKDt
However, the ‘Special One’ believes he has a better-stocked roster this season that will help his side overcome a potential injury crisis.
“Sometimes we have [injury] problems, and when we have problems, there’s an accumulation,” said Mourinho, as relayed by the Evening Standard.
“It happened to us last season, and it was without Covid. When you start having the problem with Harry Kane, Sonny was playing every match.
“Then we have a problem with Sonny, and Lucas [Moura] was playing every game with [Steven] Bergwijn. Then Begwijn had a problem.”
Liverpool are also dealing with similar problems at the back, losing Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Joe Gomez to injuries.
“Of course Liverpool is a big club with a squad full of top players,” Mourinho continued. “Some are injured, some are recovering. When another one gets injured, another one comes back. The big clubs can normally cope with the situation.”
