Tottenham left-back Destiny Udogie was substituted in the first half vs Southampton on Sunday
Off the back of their 5-0 thrashing of Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou will be desperate that his side string a run of positive results together moving forward in this critical juncture of the season.
Ange Postecoglou’s side finally ended their rut last weekend by beating a listless Southampton side 5-0 at the St Mary’s Stadium. The Lilywhites have been highly inconsistent, having won the same number of games they have lost (seven) in the Premier League thus far.
Several injuries to key players have played a significant role in holding Spurs back this campaign. Postecoglou had as many as 10 first-team players unavailable for the trip to Southampton. And his troubles piled up when Destiny Udogie was forced off the pitch in the first half against the Saints. He was replaced by Pedro Porro, as Djed Spence moved to left-back in an impressive first start for the club.
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Substituted for having a tight quad, as revealed after the game, Big Ange has now dropped a fresh update on Destiny Udogie ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Manchester United at home on Thursday evening.
“From the other night, Destiny no injury but he is still sore from the game,” Postecoglou said in his pre-match press conference. (h/t Football London)
“[I’m] not ruling him out but will see how he is with the turnaround.”
Despite fortunately not suffering an injury, Udogie is a doubt for the game against Man United. The 22-year-old has struggled to produce consistency levels which he showed in his first season in North London last term. Yet, he remains an essential cog in this Spurs side under Big Ange, playing as an inverted full-back to good effect.
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The Italian’s energy, work rate, aggression and attacking endeavours makes a lot of difference for Spurs on both ends of the pitch. However, with the season yet to reach its halfway mark, Spurs have a lot of games to cover and that means Big Ange simply mustn’t risk Udogie from the start against Man United. The defensive options are already stretched to thin and we simply cannot afford to lose our first-choice left-back during this busy fixture schedule.
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Assuming Udogie is not 100 per cent fit, our gaffer will likely go with Spence at left-back and Pedro Porro at right-back. There is just no point risking Udogie and losing him to a long-term injury.
