Tottenham early team news v AZ Alkmaar as Postecoglou confirms latest new injury
Tottenham has yet another new injury concern for the trip to AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.
Spurs travel to the AFAS Stadion (6 March) for the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 clash, hoping to bring a comfortable buffer back to North London.
Continental success represents the Lilywhites’ only hope after a dismal Premier League campaign that has also seen them exit both domestic competitions.
However, their task may have been made harder by the latest update from the Australian.
Postecoglou dealt injury blow for AZ Alkmaar clash
Postecoglou confirmed that Dejan Kulusevski will miss the contest but did not rule out the likes of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, or Dominic Solanke returning.
He said: “In terms of who hasn’t travelled, Deki Kulusevski is the only one. He got a knock on the foot and he’s not sure when really. He’s been able to train and play over the last few weeks. We’ve done some further investigations and no real clarity.”
Asked whether the returning trio could start, he added: “We’ll see. They’ve all been out for a significant amount of time so we’ll see when we introduce them.”
Tottenham need Europa League victory
Spurs need to win the Europa League to turn a nightmare season into a successful one.
Postecoglou’s side have been constantly hampered by injuries this campaign, and the Lilywhites’ Premier League results have nosedived as a result with the North London club sitting in 13th place with seemingly no chance of qualifying for European football next season.
| Competition | Tottenham |
| Premier League | 13th |
| FA Cup | Eliminated (fourth round, Aston Villa) |
| CarabaoCup | Eliminated (semi-final, Liverpool) |
| Europa League | Still in (Round of 16, AZ Alkmaar) |
The N17 outfit have also been eliminated from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, so Europe is their only chance to end their 17-year trophy drought and to qualify for a Champions League berth next campaign.
Some of the blame can be placed on the board, as they did not do enough in the winter transfer market to mitigate the injury crisis, with Daniel Levy’s unpopularity reaching an all-time high at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium amid protests calling for his exit.
However, the Australian also must take responsibility for his refusal to abandon his intense training methods and tactical style during the injury crisis which arguably made it worse, however, if he guides the club to European success, that will be forgiven pretty quickly.
They have been handed a relatively easy draw and should progress to the quarter-finals against the Dutch side regardless of the injuries that they have as they have too much quality but cannot be complacent with their season on the line.