Tottenham have been handed a surprise boost ahead of the trip to Aston Villa.
Despite securing a vital win against Wolves last time out, the mood around Tottenham Hotspur has been dampened by a relentless injury crisis that has left the first-team squad paper-thin for the final four matches of the campaign.
Roberto De Zerbi lost Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke to injuries last week, with the former ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Simons has joined Mohammed Kudus and Cristian Romero as long-term casualties, meaning Spurs will head to Aston Villa on Sunday with a weakened squad.
The Spurs head coach has demanded a positive mindset and maximum commitment from his players amid the chaos engulfing the club. He has told his squad to stop feeling sorry for themselves as the threat of relegation looms large over the Lilywhites.
Tottenham discover big Aston Villa injury concern before Sunday’s encounter
Roberto De Zerbi and his coaching staff will certainly be hoping to approach their fight for survival on a game-by-game basis instead of planning way too far ahead. The North Londoners will be hoping to build on last weekend’s victory at Wolves when they face Aston Villa at Villa Park in their next fixture.
Now in this final stretch of the campaign, Spurs are pushing to close the two-point gap between them and West Ham, and every small advantage counts in what has become a tense relegation scrap. It looks like there is going to be a small advantage for De Zerbi’s side going into the Aston Villa game.
Villa boss Unai Emery has confirmed that Amadou Onana will miss the Tottenham clash with a calf problem. While the club is still determining the severity of the injury, the powerful 6 ft 5in central midfielder will definitely miss Sunday’s game.
Amadou Onana, who missed the league loss at Fulham before returning to the squad for the Europa League clash against Nottingham Forest in midweek, only managed 55 minutes before he was forced off the pitch with a calf issue.
“He has a scan, and we will see the consequences after, and see how he’s feeling, but for Sunday, he’s definitely not available,” Emery said.
Onana has been a key player for Emery’s Villa. The big Belgian international is an all-action midfielder, capable of impacting games at both ends of the pitch. The 24-year-old has bagged two goals in 24 Premier League appearances this season.
With his physicality, aerial ability and goalscoring, Onana could have been a big threat to Tottenham. It will be interesting to see who replaces the Dakar-born talent in Villa’s engine room, but his absence on Sunday is certainly a big boost for the North Londoners.