Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has spoken out on his decision to substitute Heung-min Son early in the second half against Aston Villa, suggesting that the South Korean international was always going to be taken off due to his recent injury issues.
Son was taken off shortly after half-time against Aston Villa, despite Spurs chasing the game and needing a goal. The experienced forward was pictured on the bench in 'shock' after Postecoglou's decision, and he didn't look too happy despite his recent injury troubles.
Speaking after the game, Postecoglou has explained the decision to substitute Son in the second half...
"He was never going to play more than 55 minutes. Last time he came back from injury he got to the 60-minute mark and got injured again. He got through unscathed."
Son is a player who lives to score and create goals, so being taken off when the scoreline was 1-1 would have been disappointing for him. It turned out to be a smart decision from Postecoglou with Spurs going on to win 4-1 and Son getting some much-needed rest.
The north London outfit travel to Turkey to face Galatasaray in the Europa League next week and Postecoglou will be desperate to take a fully-fit squad. After Son suffered a setback with his injury recently, it made perfect sense for the Australian manager to be careful with his minutes.
If Tottenham had have lost the game against Villa, then questions marked will have been asked of Postecoglou, but thankfully for him, they coped without their captain with the likes of Dominic Solanke and substitute James Maddison chipping in with the goals.
Spurs have plenty of options in attack that risking Son for the whole game wasn't necessary. Richarlison came on for the winger before getting injured late on, but the Brazilian provided an assist for Solanke. Maddison replaced him before scoring a free-kick in the dying minutes. Postecoglou also had Mikey Moore and Timo Werner to call upon if needed, but the attacking duo weren't needed as Spurs sailed to a comfortable victory in the end.