The Premier League may be on pause at present but that doesn't mean the work stops for Ange Postecoglou at Hotspur Way. The second international break of the 2024/25 campaign is now upon us and a large number of the Spurs squad are currently with their respective nations across the globe.
Despite losing a decent amount of his players, Postecoglou still has a handful of the first team to work with as they get their plans in place for the Premier League home clash against West Ham. It really is a game Spurs need to take maximum points from after surrendering a two-goal lead at Brighton & Hove Albion last Sunday and eventually losing the game 3-2.
Postecoglou's squad could possibly look slightly different for the West Ham game after once again missing some key players at the Amex. Richarlison and Son Heung-min were two notable absentees on the south coast due to injury.
Richarlison last featured for the team in August's 4-0 win over Everton, with his first-team action this season totalling 25 minutes from two games. Injuries have meant the Brazilian's career at Tottenham has been extremely stop-start and Postecoglou will be hoping that he can get a consistent run of games out of the 27-year-old as he needs cover for Dominic Solanke with so many games on the agenda.
Richarlison certainly does look like he is stepping up his fitness ahead of the return of Premier League football if Tottenham's latest training images are anything to go by. Taking to their Instagram account on Wednesday, the club uploaded a total of nine images of Richarlison putting in the work on the pitch at Hotspur Way.
The attacker does appear to be working away from the rest of the first team at present while he works on his fitness. Appearing to be stepping up his fitness with a number of running drills, one positive sign for all concerned is he is working with the ball again.
In the training images published by Spurs, there didn't appear to be any sign of Son or Wilson Odobert working outside just yet as they look to return to action ASAP from their respective injuries. James Maddison and goalkeepers Fraser Forster, Alfie Whiteman and Brandon Austin also didn't feature in the images published by the club.
In terms of those remaining behind at Hotspur Way during the international break and training for the West Ham game, Sergio Reguilon, Djed Spence, Rodrigo Bentancur and Timo Werner were just some of the first-team stars photographed at the club's Enfield base.
A selection of academy players also got the nod to make the step up to the senior squad and boost the numbers in training. Tyrese Hall and Max Robson, who have trained with the first team numerous times in the past, were two of those given the green light to work alongside the senior players.
Dante Cassanova and Damola Ajayi were also with the first team again having travelled to Budapest last week for Tottenham's Europa League tie against Ferencvaros. The duo, along with Alfie Dorrington, were named on the bench at the Groupama Arena but did not feature in the 2-1 win.
It won't be until the end of next week when the numbers in training start to pick up with international fixtures taking place until the early hours of Wednesday morning due to the South American World Cup qualifiers. Until then, those involved in training will have the opportunity to work closely with Postecoglou and try and force their way into his plans for the West Ham match.
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