Tottenham have suffered a big blow as Kevin Danso has been ruled out with a suspected hamstring vs AZ Alkmaar

Tottenham Hotspur are gearing up for undoubtedly their biggest game of their season on Thursday evening.

Ange Postecoglou’s side need a turnaround against AZ Alkmaar in the return leg of the Europa League last-16 tie if they are to progress to the quarter-finals, having lost 1-0 last week after Lucas Bergvall’s unfortunate own goal. Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin are all ruled out, while Ben Davies remains doubtful for the tie.

And now it seems Spurs have suffered a big blow ahead of the second leg against AZ Alkmaar. According to club insider Paul O’ Keefe, Kevin Danso is set to miss the clash due to a suspected hamstring injury. Writing on his X account, he shared the worrying update on the defender’s availability for Thursday’s big European fixture.

Kevin Danso arrived in the January transfer window from French side RC Lens, and due to the lack of options at Spurs, he has been forced to play almost every single minute. After learning about Radu Dragusin’s season-ending ACL injury, the Hotspur Way chiefs upped their ante and landed the Austrian international only a few days before the winter window slammed shut.

Due to the likes of Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven having struggled with injury problems over the last few months, coupled with Dragusin’s ACL tear, the signing of Danso was extremely critical and he has quickly become a trusted member of Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

The centre-back has made seven appearances in a Tottenham shirt so far across all competitions, clocking 618 minutes on the pitch. It looks as though the exertion of playing regularly may have caught up with him as he has become the latest Tottenham player to go down with an injury.

Earlier this week, famous broadcaster Marcus Buckland revealed that he had heard a rumour that Danso picked up a knock against Bournemouth on Sunday. That now seems to have been confirmed following Paul O’Keefe’s latest update on the 26-year-old, who was spotted limping in the closing stages of the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at home in the Premier League.

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Spurs were without Romero and Van de Ven for a significant period, but they returned to the squad last week and are expected to pair up in central defence in the wake of Danso’s injury.

Let’s hope the Austrian’s injury is not serious and that he makes a swift return to the squad as Spurs enter the business phase of the campaign.