Tottenham could be without star man Son Heung-min for up to six games in January
Just as Tottenham were beginning to get their squad back together after a testing few weeks, they now must prepare for life without several key players in January, with one absentee, in particular, standing out.
It has been a trying time for Ange Postecoglou in north London in recent weeks. Following long-term injuries to the likes of Micky van de Ven, James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur, as well as suspensions for Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Yves Bissouma, the Australian has had a nightmare selecting his teams for recent games.
This left Spurs without a win in five, although they now look as if they're starting to get their squad from the beginning of the season back together and reminded everyone of their quality with a 4-1 win over Newcastle United on 10 December.
Supporters at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will hope that this result represented the turning of a corner and with games against Nottingham Forest, Everton and Bournemouth on the horizon, there will be quiet optimism among the fanbase that they can begin to find some consistent form again.
However, just as the mood and grey clouds were lifting around Hotspur Way, recent news will have seen all that positivity come tumbling down once again.
Spurs already know that they will be without Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma in January due to AFCON, a devastating blow which leaves them incredibly short in midfield.
Nonetheless, it gets worse, as Son Heung-min will also be absent in January due to the Asia Cup, and it has now been revealed just how much time the 31-year-old is set to miss.
While the Asia Cup doesn't get underway until 12 January, South Korean football writer Steve Han has shared via his official X platform (11 December) that it has been agreed Son will head to Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks before that date on the 31 December after Spurs' match with Bournemouth.
The Evening Standard's Spurs correspondent Dan Kilpatrick confirmed this news, stating via his own official X platform (11 December) that Son will miss Spurs' FA Cup third-round clash with Burnley on 5 January, the league visit to Manchester United on 14 January and the fourth round of the FA Cup should Spurs advance.
In addition, Son - who was hailed as "world-class" by Gary Neville on Sky Sports Main Event on Sunday (5:10pm, 10 December) - could miss three more games in the league against Brentford and Brighton at home as well as Everton away, depending on how far South Korea progresses in the tournament.
This leaves Tottenham in a very tricky spot. Son is the club's top scorer this season with ten goals in the Premier League, six more than second-placed Dejan Kulusevski.
Not only is he the club's top scorer and captain, but his overall stats reveal just how much Postecoglou is set to lose when Son is away. As per fbref, the forward is in the top two per cent of his positional peers in England's top flight this season for the number of shot-creating actions he has made (4.19 per 90).
He sits in the top five per cent of Premier League forwards for a range of important passing statistics as well, such as key passes (2.03 per 90), pass completion rate (81.9 per cent per 90), progressive passes (4.05 per 90) and expected assists (0.24 per 90), while he also sits in the top two per cent for the number of through balls has he played (0.54 per 90).
This demonstrates that while he has been scoring the goals, he has also been a source of creativity within the side, and his overall game will be near impossible for Postecoglou to replace while he is away.
As one of the stronger teams in the competition, there is a great chance that South Korea will progress quite far into the tournament, and it feels as if Son is more likely to miss closer to the six potential games rather than just the three.