A deep dive has been done into the kind of injuries that the Tottenham squad has suffered this season, and the only conclusion one can reach from the numbers is that the club’s injury crisis is not down to bad luck, but rather a result of the workload put on the players.
Tottenham’s unrelenting injury issues this season
Over the last few months, the number of absentees has continued to pile up for Tottenham, who have lost new players to injuries just as others returned to action.
It has meant that Ange Postecoglou regularly had to deal with a double-digit number of absentees over the last few months, which was particularly an issue given that they were playing nearly every three days.
There are now some signs that the injury issues might finally be relenting, but Tottenham fans should be wary of counting the chickens before they hatch, as the numbers suggest that issues are endemic to Postecoglou’s approach.
Tottenham’s worrying injury crisis points to one source
Opta Analyst have now done a deep dive on the kind of injuries that the Spurs players have suffered and point out that the club have had a significantly higher rate of muscle injuries than average.
They explain that muscle injuries are caused by an overload rather than impact and that hamstring injuries are most correlated with a high workload.
The website reveals that 39 per cent of Tottenham’s injuries this season have been hamstring-related compared to just 23.5 per cent across the Premier League.
Meanwhile, hamstring injuries make up 58 per cent of all of Tottenham’s muscle-related injuries but that number is just 41 per cent across the whole of the division.
This suggests that the increasing demands placed on the Spurs players due to their style of play could be responsible for the bloated injury list.
What makes the Spurs style so demanding?
Opta Analyst also take a closer look at the workload that is put on the Spurs squad compared to their Premier League counterparts.
They reveal that Tottenham lead the top-flight for total sprints with 4200 so far this season while they are only second to Ipswich Town on total distance covered.
They press with more intensity than any other side in the division, with their PPDA (opposition passes per defensive action) being the lowest in the division at 9.4, which shows that they allow their opponents the fewest passes before attempting to win the ball.
Tottenham are also at the top of the tree for pressures made by a sprinting player with 819, which is 82 more than the team in second, Bournemouth.