Football.London’s Alasdair Gold has revealed that Dejan Kulusevski was playing with a broken nose against Newcastle United.
Kulusevski had an evening to forget against West Ham on Thursday as the Swede struggled to beat his man and create opportunities in the final third, with Tottenham falling to their third consecutive home loss.
The 23-year-old was moved back into the number ten role for the clash against Newcastle and he gave a much better account of himself as Spurs brushed the Magpies away to return to winning ways.
Kulusevski wore a mask to protect broken nose
Kulusevski was playing with a protective mask against Eddie Howe’s men and Gold has now explained why that was the case.
He revealed that the winger got a stray elbow in the face from West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta in midweek and subsequently suffered a broken nose.
Gold stated that the Tottenham man was fuming about the incident and tried to protest Paqueta’s elbow to referee Michael Salisbury on Thursday after the final whistle, and had to be held back by his teammates, Destiny Udogie and Richarlison.
The journalist adds that Kulusevski was a doubt for the game against Newcastle but decided to tough it out and make himself available.
Spurs Web Opinion
Kulusevski is naturally a very combative player, so the broken nose might perhaps be playing on the back of his mind and could infringe on his game. Let us hope it is not a serious break and will heal soon.