Tottenham Hotspur are set to face Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday without club captain Son Heung-min.
The South Korean was an injury doubt heading into this weekend’s trip to Old Trafford. He had to be withdrawn late on in Thursday’s 3-0 win against Qarabag in the UEFA Europa League, with head coach Ange Postecoglou confirming at a press conference he would make a late decision on whether to include Son in his squad.
But the Daily Mail report that the 32-year-old is not fit to take part and Spurs will have to soldier on without their star forward.
Son has been able to boast a relatively impressive injury record at Tottenham since his move to the club in 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen and he had not picked up a muscle problem since before Postecoglou’s arrival in north London.
In Son’s absence, Tottenham may shuffle around their frontline. Brennan Johnson, who has three goals in his last three games, could switch to the left wing, with Dejan Kulusevski heading back to the right having almost exclusively played as a midfielder so far this season.
Alternatively, Postecoglou could turn to loanee Timo Werner, who is yet to register a goal contribution in five brief appearances so far this term. Werner first joined Spurs in January and made his debut in a 2-2 draw away at United last season, coming up with an assist for Rodrigo Bentancur.
A muscle injury means summer signing Wilson Odobert is unlikely to return until late October at the earliest.
