Tottenham Hotspur will be without captain Son Heung-min for their trip to Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie, manager Ange Postecoglou said Wednesday.
Son, who missed Tottenham’s 4-2 drubbing at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, has failed to recover from foot injury in time for Thursday’s game.
The Premier League club will be without their leader, who has scored three goals and provided one assist in nine Europa League games this season.
“Sonny didn’t travel in the end, he’s the only one that misses out,” said Postecoglou at his pre-match press conference. “He’s been battling with his foot problem for a few weeks now and managed [to play] through it.
“He trained the last few days; he tried to train yesterday and it wasn’t right so we made the decision to leave him at home to allow him to recuperate.”
Spurs fought back to hold Frankfurt to a 1-1 draw in North London last Thursday, with Pedro Porro cancelling out Hugo Ekitike’s opener for the Germans.
Postecoglou, meanwhile, has been under immense scrutiny throughout the season, with the Europa League their only source of a silverware this season as they sit 15th in the Premier League standings.
The Australian, however, is unperturbed by any criticism directed towards his path, saying, “If you don’t think I’m a good coach that’s not going to change because of what happens tomorrow.
“We’ve got a great opportunity tomorrow and I’m not going to let that slip by without fighting tooth and nail.”
Spurs will be looking to get a favourable result at the Waldstadion against 2022 Europa League winners Frankfurt, with the hopes securing a spot in the semi-finals.
