Ange Postecoglou faces his toughest Tottenham dilemma yet after Alejo Veliz injury v Bournemouth
Ange Postecoglou will have very few options to turn toward when Tottenham host Burnley in the FA Cup on Friday 5 January after Alejo Veliz hobbled off injured against Bournemouth.
Spurs ended 2023 on a positive note, beating an in-form Bournemouth side 3-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on New Year’s Eve. However, not everyone would have been feeling positive heading into 2024.
Veliz became the latest player to fall victim to the injury crisis sweeping through the Tottenham squad. With moments to go, the 20-year-old could be seen struggling, and left the pitch in tears, with Dan Kilpatrick reporting via his official X account (31 December) that the Argentinian “left the stadium on crutches and with a brace on his right leg.”
Veliz tried his best to continue before eventually coming off in stoppage time, forcing Tottenham to finish the game with 10 men as Postecoglou had already made all five of his substitutions.
The youngster’s desire and willingness to play on despite being in pain will have certainly earned him plenty of new admirers in north London, with his manager speaking of his “character” after the game.
Postecoglou told the press, “Alejo was in a lot of pain and we’d already done our substitutions so we were trying to get it out to him to just lay down so we can get him off, but it just shows the character of the boy because he knew we had no more substitutions and he just wanted to keep going.” (Evening Standard, 31 December).
“I’m not sure the extent of what he’s done but we’ll find out.”
It is a cruel twist of fate for Veliz, who would have been on cloud nine ahead of kick-off after scoring his first senior goal for the club in the 4-2 defeat against Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Thursday 28 December.
Having come on in the 70th minute, Veliz had a cameo performance to remember as he won 100 per cent of his duels, one in the ground and one in the air, while he was also successful with his one dribble attempt and went close with a shot which was blocked late on (Sofascore).
His goal demonstrated to Postecoglou the threat he provides in and around the penalty area.
As Son Heung-min picked up possession on the right-hand side of the Brighton box, Veliz made a run toward the back post.
Son picked his teammate out, who took the ball down well with his first touch.
With his second touch, he finished emphatically, and while it proved to be nothing more than a consolation on the day, it would have been a big personal boost for the forward.
He struggled to make the same impact when he was introduced against Bournemouth, completing just 67 per cent of his passes, losing the ball twice and failing with his one duel in the air, although it is hard to judge his display considering he spent most of it battling to stay on the pitch.
Not only is the injury a huge personal blow for Veliz, but it is yet another sucker punch for his manager.
Son is now no longer available for selection as he turns his attention toward South Korea and the Asia Cup, which leaves Richarlison, Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Bryan Gil as the only senior attacking options available for the foreseeable future.
Kulusevski has been playing as a number ten while Gil is not a favourite of Spurs’ 58-year-old head coach, and with Burnley visiting the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for some FA Cup action on Friday, this could be the perfect opportunity for Postecoglou to offer in-form Under-21 striker Jamie Donley his first senior start.
Whatever the Australian decides to do, this is certainly one of his toughest selection dilemmas yet, which certainly says a lot after the season Tottenham have had.
In other Tottenham news, one 97 per cent Spurs ace proved he is “world-class” in the victory against Bournemouth.