Tottenham welcome Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday but Ange Postecoglou won't be able to call on captain Son Heung-min
Eight players could miss Tottenham and Bodo/Glimt's Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday. Spurs welcome the Norwegian side to north London before the return leg in Bodo next Thursday.
The teams are battling it out to face either Athletic Bilbao or Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday, May 21. Coincidentally, the final will be played in Bilbao.
But Ange Postecoglou's men can't start thinking about visiting the Basque country until they're done with Bodo/Glimt. Tottenham will be depleted for Thursday's encounter, as captain Son Heung-min has been ruled out with a foot injury.
"No, he won't feature tomorrow night," Postecoglou confirmed at his pre-match news conference on Wednesday. "He's training, but he's still separate from the group. He is improving and hopefully we can get him back sooner rather than later."
The Spurs forward joins defender Radu Dragusin on the sidelines, with the Romanian ruled out for the rest of this season. But it's Bodo/Glimt who have most of the injury concerns.
During their quarter-final second leg away to Lazio, which they won on penalties, captain Patrick Berg and fellow central midfielder Hakon Evjen both picked up yellow cards. That means they're both suspended for Thursday's trip to the capital.
Striker Andreas Helmersen is also banned, having scored the crucial goal to force penalties against Lazio before he was sent off. Four days later, new signing Ole Blomberg had to come off after just 14 minutes during their clash with Molde.
The winger, who joined from Brann at the start of this year, left the stadium wearing a protective boot and missed Bodo/Glimt's next two games. Right-back Daniel Bassi forced off at half-time during their 5-1 cup win against Junkeren while centre-back Odin Bjortuft was taken off in the second half of their 3-0 victory over KFUM Oslo on Sunday.
Who'll reach the final - Tottenham or Bodo/Glimt? Give us your prediction in the comments section.
Boss Kjetil Knutsen was asked about their injury concerns pre-match. "We're testing them today [Wednesday], either they are ready to play or be ready to be part of the squad," Knutsen told reporters. "If they aren't ready then someone else will play, that is football, you will have to [wait and] see."
Bodo/Glimt, who represent a town of just over 40,000 people, have enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past decade. During Knutsen's seven years in charge, they've been crowned Norwegian champions four times and will become the first team from Norway to play in a European semi-final.