Tottenham Hotspur will be without their captain Son Heung-min against Manchester United after the South Korean was not named in the matchday squad.
Son had been a doubt for the Premier League clash after being substituted late in Tottenham’s 3-0 Europa League win over Qarabag on Thursday with a suspected hamstring injury.
Boss Ange Postecoglou said he hoped Son would recover in time for the key league match, but he has not made the necessary progress despite attempting to train on Saturday.
Son has been replaced in Tottenham’s starting XI by Timo Werner, who has not started a league match or scored this season after permanently signing in the summer.
Postecoglou told Sky Sports: “Short turnaround [for Son], he just wasn’t right for today so we go in without him.
“We’ve had those things a fair bit. We just have to learn to cope without.
“Timo [Werner] is most comfortable in that position. We brought him into the club for situations like this.
“Facing a big club, iconic stadium, plenty of attention – these are the kind of games you want to be involved in.
“We won the last three. Results have been mixed but performances haven’t been too bad. I’m pretty happy with how we’re playing our football.”
Tottenham are on a three-match winning streak after a tumultuous start to the season, sitting 10th – level on points with Erik ten Hag’s United.
Son had scored twice and created two more in five Premier League games in 2024-25 and hadn’t missed a game due to a muscle injury since Postecoglou took over in north London.
It is expected he will return to full fitness ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Ferencvaros on Thursday, although will likely be afforded until next Sunday’s visit to Brighton to recover if he needs it.
Werner will start in a front three alongside Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson, who has scored in each of his past three matches.
Rodrigo Bentancur keeps his place in the heart of Spurs’ midfield over Yves Bissouma, with Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison either side of him.