Igor Tudor has addressed how he intends to shape Tottenham Hotspur amid a mounting injury crisis, ahead of the north London derby.
Tottenham Hotspur fans will have hoped for a positive injury update ahead of the north London derby against Arsenal.
However, that was not the case, with Igor Tudor only confirming that Dominic Solanke trained for two days, although the Englishman has a throat issue. He also stated that some of the other injured players could return next week.
Speaking about the fitness of his Tottenham squad, he said: “Probably no, Solanke has some problem with his throat, but he made two days training. All the others, some are next week.”
Tottenham injury crisis forces Igor Tudor to rethink Spurs system
That leaves Spurs in a similar position to when they last faced Newcastle United, with no fit wingers available for selection.
At the back, if Tudor deploys three centre-backs, he will have to rely on a makeshift option, with Cristian Romero suspended and Kevin Danso injured.
The midfield is also stretched, with Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur injured, while Mohammed Kudus, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski are unavailable.
It raises questions about how Tudor will set up and what his style of play will look like with so many absentees.
Addressing the tactical dilemma and the impact of injuries, Tudor explained that mentality comes before system when players are missing.
Speaking to Tottenham’s official channels, he said: “I would say it is more difficult when you do not have players. But then it is easy to choose a system. As I said on Tottenham television, it is always the style after the mentality.
“That system can be, as you know, during the game the players are moved, it can be changed. It is only starting position after it is all about fluid and movement, without ball of course. Then you need to choose for the characteristics of the players.
“The available players. If you have wingers, fantastic wingers. You play with the wingers. If you have fantastic strikers, you play with strikers, or midfielders (etc). That is the key, but it is not about the system. That is the last thing that is important for this start.
“As I said before, you need to become a team, you need to become the group of the people with values, who give something more, who watch after each other, who do not watch themselves, but each other to help them.
“This is, for me, basic. After, all the quality can come out, because this is a team who is full of quality, I believe, full of talented players with good motivations who can run. So, there is plenty of potential. To come out with potential, some basics need to be done.”
Spurs still have quality despite injury setbacks
Of course, despite the injury problems, Tottenham still have enough quality to hurt teams, even Arsenal on Sunday.
Spurs also have the advantage of a 12-day rest coming into the north London derby, which should keep them fresh physically and mentally.
Still, with just 13 players available, Tudor can name a starting XI, and we have predicted how the new Tottenham boss will set up in the north London derby in a 3-4-2-1 formation.