Ange Postecoglou has offered an injury update on midfielder Pape Matar Sarr following his early substitution during Tottenham’s defeat to Aston Villa.
It was a 21st defeat in the West Midlands for Tottenham Hotspur, who took on Aston Villa in their penultimate game of the Premier League season.
Indeed, the Premier League has all but ended for Spurs with the Lilywhites having nothing to play for, as they are currently 17th in the league.
With a Europa League final just a few days away, Ange Postecoglou would have wanted his side to go into the final with some momentum.
The Australian manager rang the changes in this one, as he was hoping his side would not pick up any other injuries before the final, with Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison all set to miss out.
It was 2-0 on the night to Aston Villa, and Spurs did not appear to go unscathed, with Pape Matar Sarr being hooked off early in the second half, around the 50th minute mark.
Following his substitution, the Senegalese midfielder headed straight to the tunnel after being replaced by Yves Bissouma to receive some treatment.
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Ange Postecoglou has now shed more light on the midfielder’s fitness and the reason behind the change. The Tottenham boss has stated that the midfielder felt something in his back, but he does not think it is anything significant.
He told football.london: “Pape felt something in his back, we don’t think it’s anything significant, having spoken to him, but we’ll see.”
This does sound all too familiar, as Postecoglou’s post-match comments following Dejan Kulusevski’s recent injury suggested the Swede would be fine, only for him to undergo surgery and miss the rest of the season.
Heung-min Son returns to fitness ahead of Spurs vs Manchester United
It was not all doom and gloom for Tottenham, who saw their captain Heung-min Son start his first match since April in this tie.
Son has only just recovered from a foot injury, featuring for the first time against Crystal Palace, but from the bench.
This time around, the captain started from the off and got a solid 74 minutes of action into his legs ahead of the final tie against Manchester United.