Tottenham star Destiny Udogie is hopeful of a swift return after he left the clash with Manchester United due to injury. Following a blistering run down the left in the opening 45 minutes, with the score already at 1-0, he was captured on the floor and receiving treatment from Spurs physios.
The Italy international was able to see out the half but he was replaced by Djed Spence at the interval with Ange Postecoglou admitting the change was precautionary. "He felt something in his quad, he obviously finished the half, but we just thought at half-time no point, we've got to be careful about how much we push our players," he said.
"Obviously, Destiny had to come on pretty early on Thursday night, which wasn't the plan and I would say Micky played probably more than we wanted him to." Postecoglou's comments over the weekend certainly suggest Micky Van de Ven may be rested, though he has since confirmed both Son Heung-min and Udogie will be absent.
"Destiny hasn't travelled," the Tottenham boss revealed on Wednesday. "Nothing significant, but didn't makes sense to bring him if he wasn't going to play. Radu is suspended and Sonny is back in London doing rehab." With Postecoglou seemingly hopeful that Udogie can return fairly soon, the man himself is also optimistic.
On Instagram, with Spurs going on to win 3-0, he wrote: "Coming back to London with 3 points. Sure i’ll be okay! #blessed [praying emoji]." Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro were among those in the replies with both likely hopeful he can return imminently.
Though it appears as though Udogie will not be out for an extended period, his absence on Thursday is actually a major blow. That is because Spence, who replaced him at the weekend, was not named in Spurs' Europa League squad which means one of Ben Davies or Archie Gray will likely play at left-back.
Another surprising squad decision has also been made recently with Sergio Reguilon, who was not included in the league stage squad, spotted getting on the plane to Budapest. Despite the fact he cannot feature, Postecoglou has explained the decision to have him as part of the travelling group.
"We've got training sessions (here), so we've brought young players and Reggy, just to make sure the quality of our training is what it needs to be today," he said when speaking to SPURSPLAY.
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