Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham team are back on the training pitch as they prepare for their Europa League clash against AZ Alkmaar. Not having a match over the weekend as a result of their FA Cup fourth round exit at Aston Villa, football.london reported that the head coach had elected to give his players Sunday and Monday off to recharge their batteries.
After going so long playing games every three or four days in a relentless period, the Spurs squad should be nice and fresh after having no midweek games in a two-week spell in February. However, the fixtures are going to start coming thick and fast again with the Europa League round of 16 set to commence on Thursday night.
Ahead of the AZ encounter in the Netherlands, Tottenham uploaded their latest training video to their social media channels to give fans a glimpse into their preparations. Here are we things we spotted in the training session at the club's Enfield base:
Injured trio return
Things are finally looking up for Postecoglou and his Spurs team on the injury front. Having suffered so many injuries to leave the head coach with limited options for a good chunk of the season, Postecoglou's squad finally resembles that of a first team once again.
Receiving an injury boost last month with players such as Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison and Brennan Johnson returning, Spurs now have Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke back on the training pitch. The trio are key players in the Tottenham XI and it could make a huge difference in what remains of the season with all three taking their place in the spine of the team.
Postecoglou will give an update on the trio on Wednesday evening when he previews the AZ Alkmaar game but their presence on the training pitch would suggest that they are in a position to be part of the matchday party.
Romero hint dropped
Having Romero and Van de Ven available again means that Postecoglou will be able to operate with his first-choice centre-back pairing. Last doing so in the home defeat to Chelsea in early December, since then Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies, Archie Gray and Kevin Danso have operated at the heart of defence on a regular basis.
Danso has made a real impression since joining Tottenham on loan from from RC Lens and he has given Postecoglou a huge call to make once Romero and Van de Ven are both in a position to start. In one training drill at Hotspur Way that saw attack take on defence, Romero could be seen partnering Danso at the back.
That may well be a hint over the centre-back pairing Postecoglou opts for against AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie. We'll find out if that's the case around 4:45pm on Thursday.
Missing players
Not everyone appeared to take part in Tottenham training on Tuesday as the team put in the work ahead of the AZ game. Dejan Kulusevski, as expected, was not present on the training pitch after he uploaded a photo of himself to his Instagram account with a protective boot on his left foot.
It's not exactly clear yet how long the Sweden international will be on the sidelines for but Postecoglou should provide some clarity in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening. There was also no sighting of Richarlison as he steps up his return to fitness, with Ben Davies also not appearing to be involved with the rest of his teammates.
Postecoglou will give an injury update in his time with the media later on today and the current injury status of the trio should all become clear.
Business as usual for Timo and Co.
Timo Werner will unfortunately have to watch on for the remainder of the season in the Europa League after missing out on Spurs' 25-man squad for the knockout stage. Previously part of the squad for the league phase, the German was one of three players cut as Danso, Djed Spence and Mathys Tel came in.
Werner may not be able to play for Tottenham in Europe now but it was very much business as usual for him on the training pitch. All the loanee can do right now is impress at Hotspur Way and hope that minutes come his way in the Premier League.
Antonin Kinsky and Fraser Forster are also in a similar boat to Werner as they missed out on the squad when it was announced at the beginning of February. Spurs do have sufficient cover in goal, though, with Vicario, Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman as options.
Free-kick duty
Tottenham's latest training video finished with Son Heung-min curling in a delightful free-kick. It was some effort from the Spurs captain and it left the goalkeeper with no chance as the ball found the top corner of the goal.
Son was that impressed by his strike that he ran off to celebrate with his arms spread out wide. So could Son be over the free-kicks if Tottenham get one in a good position against AZ? Maddison may well have something to say about that.
Click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham.