Tottenham Hotspur star Heung-min Son was notably absent from training today, and Ange Postecoglou has been discussing the condition of his captain in his latest press conference.
Son’s triumphant return
Spurs had been missing their influential skipper for the last few weeks due to a hamstring issue he picked up during the last Europa League game against Ferencvaros.
After sitting out the international break with South Korea, Son was back in training for Tottenham last week and returned to the starting line-up for the game against West Ham on Saturday.
He more than made up for lost time, too, by scoring a wonderful solo goal to seal the win for Spurs on the hour mark at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham fans would be hoping their star man could make it through the rest of the campaign unhindered, but fears have set in once more as Son was not spotted in training on Wednesday.
Son was never going to play against AZ Alkmaar
Speaking to the press today (via Spurs Official), Ange Postecoglou was asked about this absence and what it might mean for his team selection against AZ Alkmaar tomorrow, and it turns out that even if fully fit, Son was not going to be playing anyway.
He said: “Sonny was a bit sore after the weekend, but he was never going to be involved anyway. We’ll leave him out and we’ll see how he is from there.”
While I would probably always be looking to rest Son for the next game, it’s key that we have him fit and ready to go at a moment’s notice really. Even if he’s just on the bench for the Europa League, we may need to call on him if things don’t quite go to plan. Hopefully, that’s not something we need to worry about.
What about Wilson Odobert?
One man who returned to training this week after a long period on the sidelines was Wilson Odobert. However, Postecoglou made it clear that Spurs will be careful with his reintroduction.
On whether Odobert can feature against Alkmaar, Ange said (Football London): “Potentially. We have to be a bit more careful with him because he’s missed a lot and he’s only had this week of training. Game-time will be game dependent with him.”