Tottenham: Emerson Royal to ‘be ready’ for showdown v Arsenal after Pedro Porro update
Tottenham defender Emerson Royal will “have to be ready” to start the North London derby after an update emerged over Pedro Porro, according to Alan Hutton.
Ange Postecoglou’s side are next in action against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on Sunday (28 April) as they look to get back to winning ways in the race for the Champions League following their disappointing 4-0 defeat to Newcastle.
While the scoreline at St James’ Park was damaging, perhaps the bigger worry for Spurs was the fact that Porro was forced off early in the second half with an injury, with Postecoglou confirming the severity of the blow isn’t yet none [Evening Standard, 15 April].
There is therefore a chance the Spanish defender will be fit and available to start against the Gunners, but Hutton believes Emerson will already be prepared to step up and perform in one of Spurs’ biggest games of the season.
“He’ll have to be ready,” Hutton told Tottenham News.
“If he can’t play it’s such a huge game to come into when you’ve not been playing. I like Porro, it’s taken him time to settle in, but he’s shown his quality. Again, you’re going to have days where you’re not at your best.
“He went for that back pass header and it was short and ended up in a goal, it’s not ideal but it happens as a defender. You make mistakes, you just have to deal with sorts of things but we’ll just have to wait and see if it is an injury and if it could keep him out for a long period of time.
“If it does, Emerson has to come in and that’s why you should be ready every game to come on and do your bit because you have a squad in case you’re needed.”
Is Pedro Porro fit to play for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou in the North London derby against Arsenal?
Spurs have had some bad luck when it comes to injury this year, with the likes of Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie and Ryan Sessengnon missing parts of the season as Postecoglou pushes for the top four.
Porro has been in exceptional form so far this season, barring a terrible first half at St James’ Park and it would be a massive dent to Tottenham’s top-four hopes if he is ruled out for any considerable length of time.
Hopefully, the Spanish defender will be back fit and available to start against Arsenal, but if he isn’t, supporters will have to hope Hutton is right and Emerson is ready to step in and fill the void at right-back.
In other Tottenham news, Hutton believes Son Heung-min will be “unhappy” with Postecoglou after an incident against Newcastle
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