Ange Postecoglou reveals fresh Tottenham injury concern after Leicester defeat

Ange Postecoglou revealed that Richarlison’s early withdrawal during Tottenham’s loss to Leicester City was due to a problem with the striker’s groin.

Richarlison scored his second goal in as many Premier League games to give his side the lead at half-time against Leicester at home.

However, Spurs were stunned by a five-minute turnaround at the start of the second half as goals from Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss condemmed them to a shock 2-1 defeat.

The defeat to Leicester, who prior to this game had lost seven league games on the bounce, undoubtedly intensifies the pressure on Postecoglou whose continues to deal with an extensive injury list.

James Maddison missed out on today’s matchday squad with a knock, meaning Spurs were without ten senior first-team players for the visit of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side.

And after the defeat, Postecoglou revealed a fresh concern for Richarlison whose 54th-minute substitution was met with boos from the home crowd.

‘He was feeling his groin, he should have come off at half-time but he wanted to give another 10 minutes,’ the Spurs manager said when asked about the Brazilian who was making his first league start of the season.

‘I could see he wasn’t running well so that is why I took him off.’

Pape Matar Sarr also came off early in the second half, with Postecoglou admitting that the central midfielder was not really fit enough to start.

‘I’ve said all along, the players need help and I’ve also said the club are working hard in that area to try to alleviate some of those problems, because Pape Sarr shouldn’t have played today,’ Postecoglou added.

‘He obviously wasn’t fit.

‘The players are going out there and giving everything then can because we can’t call off games. We’ve got another game in three days’ time that these players have to front up for.

‘The injury situation will ease and I’m confident they will sort of help us. Even one more player coming in, just in the short term will give us an opportunity, at least to navigate these last 10 days, two weeks, of what’s been a really hard slog for this group of players.’

Spurs’ unrelenting fixture load shows no signs of abating, with the north London club set to contest four games in four different competitions over the next 14 days.

Asked if he thinks he will still be in the job by the end of that run, Postecoglou responded: ‘Who knows. I reckon there is probably a fair chunk that will say no.

‘When you are the manager of a football club you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don’t feel that. I feel like this group of players, not for me, are giving everything for the club. I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that.

‘My role within that is to try and support these players. I can even see in training when the guys who are coming back come back in it is going to give everybody a lift. As I keep saying to the players, there is a fantastic opportunity this season to really make an impact and I know we can.

‘But in terms of your question, is there anything I can say about that that is going to change anything that I need to do tomorrow morning? Nothing.’

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