Antonio Conte reveals injury to Tottenham Hotspur ace Steven Bergwijn following 1-1 draw vs Southampton
Speaking in his post-match press conference, as quoted by football.london, Antonio Conte revealed that Tottenham Hotspur ace Steven Bergwijn did not make the bench against Southampton due to an injury.
The North London club looked to pick up their second consecutive league victory as they took on the Saints on Tuesday afternoon. However, the hosts struck first before Harry Kane equalized from the spot. Conte tried to change the game with his substitutes but to no avail. One man that he could not call off the bench, however, was Steven Bergwijn.
The 24-year-old has had to settle for a place on the bench this season. But he has shown signs of progress under Conte, as evidenced by his encouraging display against Crystal Palace on Sunday. But the Dutchman picked up a knock during that game, courtesy of which he was absent for the trip to Saint Mary’s.
Following the 1-1 draw against the Saints, the Italian boss revealed that the winger, coupled with injury-riddled stars like Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero, and Ryan Sessegnon shall also miss the upcoming tie against Watford on New Year’s Day.
“Steven (Bergwijn) is injured. During the game against Crystal Palace, he felt a problem with his calf. And together, he is injured with Lo Celso, Romero and Sessegnon. They will not be back for the weekend.”
First problems in the Conte era?
The 2017 Premier League-winning manager arrived at N17 at the start of November. Till now, he has been free of major issues because our games were postponed even when the Covid-19 cases were increasing within the squad. However, with the injury list rising, Conte is going to face some challenges.
Our game against Rennes in the UEFA Europa Conference League was postponed and later ruled out as a 3-0 defeat for us. We were clearly not able to field a respectable XI during those times and hence, the postponement of the matches made sense. But with players now back into the first-team fold, things can get tricky for us in the hectic winter period.
The games are coming by thick and fast, and Spurs shall be competing in three competitions next month. Following the game with Watford on Saturday, we have the 1st leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against London rivals Chelsea. Post that, we shall be facing Morecambe in the FA Cup.
Thus, the Italian boss will have to manage the game-time of his key stars carefully. Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have been our main goal threats and at some point, Lucas Moura, Bryan Gil, and Dele Alli would also need to get in on the act.
More Tottenham Hotspur News
- Rio Ferdinand explains how Antonio Conte has impacted Harry Kane’s recent turnaround at Tottenham Hotspur
- Antonio Conte provides injury update on Giovani Lo Celso as Tottenham Hotspur prepare to face Southampton
- Ralph Hasenhuttl: Southampton are not scared of Antonio Conte and Tottenham Hotspur
We tried our best against Southampton, and on some days, that could be enough, but we needed to do something extra to produce one moment of magic. There shall be more games like these and if we hope to finish in the Top 4, these are the matches that would have to be turned into victories rather than settling for a point.