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Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has appeared to aim a subtle dig at Arsenal and Spurs’ other Premier League rivals over injury complaints.

Arsenal and Manchester City have portioned some of the blame for poor results this term on injuries to key stars, including Martin Odegaard and Rodri.

Spurs are in the middle of an injury crisis themselves with centre-back duo Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both missing Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Fulham.

Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin started for the third time in a week but Postecoglou is refusing to use injuries as an excuse like others teams do.

‘I’ve seen so much violin-playing over [other teams having] one centre-back out, but we’re just supposed to get on with it,’ Postecoglou said.

The Spurs head coach then added: ‘Benny and Radu have been outstanding throughout this spell.

‘I mean there aren’t too many teams in the league who have both their centre-backs out. The beauty of it is these boys are, and I love that.

‘I love the characters they’re showing. I love the fact that they’re not seeking excuses or wanting me to make allowances for it.

‘But at some point, I need to also acknowledge the massive effort that all these guys are putting in. Radu and Ben were outstanding again.’

Spurs find themselves seventh in the Premier League table after their opening 13 games of the season.

They are five points behind north London rivals Arsenal, who currently sit in second place.

The next north London derby takes place next month as Arsenal host Spurs at the Emirates on January 15.

Arsenal beat Spurs 1-0 away from home when the sides last met in September, with Gabriel Magalhães scoring the only goal of the match.

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Tottenham are missing a number of players through injury and picked up a couple more minor issues on Sunday as Archie Gray limped out of the clash with Fulham and Dominic Solanke missed out through illness.

Spurs took the lead in north London through Brennan Johnson but Tom Cairney equalised for the visitors and the game finished 1-1.

Solanke would have been involved but was ill when he reported for duty on Sunday and was sent home.

‘Doesn’t help,’ Postecoglou said of the striker’s absence. ‘That on top of Richy [Richarlison] being out, Wilson [Odobert] being out, Mikey Moore being out.

‘It leaves us pretty thin up top and we’re trying to manage that process.’

On whether the England forward will be fit to face Bournemouth on Thursday night, the Australian said: ‘I hope so.

‘He trained yesterday, came in today but didn’t look well at all so we sent him home. It’s obviously an illness, not an injury so we just need to see how he settles down the next couple of days, but hopefully it’s nothing too significant.’

Spurs are short in attack and defence, with first choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both sidelined.

On whether Romero could return against the Cherries, Postecoglou said: ‘Potentially, but he still hasn’t trained with the team. He’s getting closer but still hasn’t trained with the team.

‘Him and Micky are still working with the sports science staff, so hopefully not too far away.’

Summer signing Archie Gray came off the bench against Fulham late in the game and had to be taken off just a few minutes later.

‘He got a knock, a bit of a dead leg,’ said his manager. ‘Hopefully it’s nothing too significant.’

The Spurs boss cut a frustrated figure, but not with his players’ efforts, more the injury situation and workload his squad is facing.

‘If people don’t understand what we are dealing with at the moment and how the players are coping with it, I think it’s fairly self evident,’ he said.

‘We are going to have to have days like today where things are not running smoothly. All you can ask is for the players to give everything and I think they did that and more today.’

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Dominic Solanke is not in the Tottenham squad for their clash with Fulham on Sunday afternoon due to illness.

The 27-year-old has scored four Premier League goals so far this season and six in all competitions since his summer move from Bournemouth.

His form has seen him return to the England squad, having not played for his country since his debut in 2017, coming off the bench against Greece in October and Ireland last month.

However, he won’t be involved in north London on Sunday afternoon against the Cottages, with Sky Sports reporting that he is suffering with illness.

Manager Ange Postecoglou explained the absence, saying: ‘He came in today and he wasn’t looking the best, just under the weather.

‘So we just sent him home. Hopefully a full recovery now ahead of the next one.’

Timo Werner comes into the starting XI in his absence, with Son Heung-min, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison completing the front four.

Postecoglou is struggling with injuries at the back, with Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero all out. Fraser Forster plays in goal, with Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin at centre-back.

Dejan Kulusevski has to settle for a place on the bench despite his fine form this season, with Postecoglou managing his game time amid a busy period.

Spurs go to Bournemouth on Thursday and then host Chelsea next Sunday, with nine matches in total coming up in December.

A win over Fulham could see Tottenham climb to as high as fifth in the Premier League table if other results go their way.

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Ange Postecoglou admits he has to be careful with Son Heung-min as his Tottenham squad is looking thin, especially in wide areas.

Son opened the scoring against Roma in north London on Thursday night, with the Europa League game eventually ending 2-2 thanks to an injury time equaliser for the Italians from Mats Hummels.

Spurs are ninth in the Europa League table, with the top eight automatically qualifying for the knockout stages so they are in a decent spot, but with work to do.

Postecoglou is trying to balance challenges in the Premier League, Carabao Cup and in Europe and he is doing so with a number of injuries.

On the wings, Spurs are missing Richarlison, Mikey Moore and Wilson Odobert, while Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are out in other areas.

The manager says he has to keep picking certain players as his options are limited, but must be careful with them, particularly Son.

‘I don’t know if he’s lacking confidence. Sonny’s had a disrupted year for us, so that doesn’t help,’ said the Australian. ‘Yeah, he had some good chances tonight to get the goal and he’s getting in those areas.

‘Look, he’s got the quality to take those chances and we know he’s done it consistently for almost a decade, but he’s had a disrupted season being in and out.You can see he is getting back to full fitness now, which is the main thing for us.

‘We’re quite thin in those wide areas, so he’s playing and we’ve got to make sure we are careful with him, Brennan [Johnson] and Timo [Werner] because they are the only wingers we’ve got left and will have for the foreseeable future.

‘I thought tonight, it wasn’t just Sonny. There were quite a few really good chances, we hit the post three times as well and a couple cleared off the line. I still felt there were a couple of occasions where a bit more composure would have finished the game off.’

It is a very busy December ahead, starting with a home Premier League clash with Fulham on Sunday and Postecoglou will head into it with a number of injury headaches.

‘It is what it is,’ he said. ‘We’ve been in this situation for quite a while. We are fairly thin in terms of squad depth at the moment. We had four kids on the bench tonight so we couldn’t even fill the quota.

‘It is what it is, we’ve been dealing with this for quite a while and I still think we certainly had enough of the game and enough clear cut chances to win the game.’

Spurs will play nine games in December across the Premier League, Carabao Cup and Europa League, including clashes with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.

‘That’s going to be our schedule and we understand that,’ said the boss. ‘It’s challenging with the absences we have at the moment in terms of the squad, but I think tonight our football was still good but we just lacked a bit, that clinical edge to finish the game off.

‘Overall this whole European competition, we’ve had some challenges within the first five games so we’re in a strong position and that’s the main thing.’

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Ange Postecoglou must hate November with a passion as it never ends well for Tottenham.

Hark back 12 months and Spurs were flying high at the top of the Premier League table only to lose 4-1 at home to Chelsea when Micky van de Ven and James Maddison suffered long-term injuries and Cristian Romero and Destiny Odogie were suspended for multiple matches after receiving red cards.

Fast forward to this week and the central defensive pairing of Van de Ven and Romero, among the best in the division, are both in the treatment room with Richarlison and Wilson Odobert. Rodrigo Bentancur is serving a seven-match ban for making a racial slur about team-mate Son Heung-Min in an interview and now they will be without goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario for the foreseeable future after he had surgery on a fracture to his right ankle.

The Italian suffered the injury half an hour into the 4-0 demolition of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday but stayed on the pitch to make a series of superb saves and keep a rare clean sheet away from home. Brave kid.

Fraser Forster, the former Celtic, Newcastle and Southampton goalkeeper, steps up to the plate and although the 36-year-old has enjoyed an above average career he’s not the sweeper-keeper Vicario is and there have to be question marks over his ability to play the ball out from the back in the same fluid manner.

Forster would most likely have started this week’s match against Roma in any case as he’s already featured in Tottenham’s Europa League campaign and Spurs will be praying he can prove himself as the perfect replacement the way Ben Davies and Radu Dragusin seamlessly stepped into the heart of defence against City.

Spurs boss Postecoglou has ruled out trying to find another keeper in the January transfer window so the answer to Big Ange’s problems is obviously going to be to score goals galore – they already top the Premier League with 27 in just 12 matches, three more than next best Liverpool, and have found the net three or more times in seven of 18 matches in all competitions.

As usual it’s going to be a rollercoaster ride for Tottenham fans but they can start life without Vicario by beating Roma outright at 8/11 with Ladbrokes, Coral and William Hill, while Brennan Johnson is 7/1 with bet365, Paddy Power and Betfair to bag the first goal and 21/10 with the former firm to score at any point.

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United were mediocre in the 1-1 draw at Ipswich on Sunday and under 2.5 goals is 41/20 with BetMGM and Unibet, while Bruno Fernandes is 23/4 to break the deadlock and 8/5 with Paddy Power, Betfair and bet365 to score at any time.

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Oasis guitarist and Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher has declared Tottenham as the ‘biggest frauds’ in the Premier League.

Gallagher watched Spurs destroy his beloved City 4-0 at the Etihad on Saturday – but he has brutally predicted that Fulham will ‘batter’ Ange Postecoglou’s side in Tottenham’s next top-flight match on Sunday.

Quizzed about City’s drop-off, with Pep Guardiola’s side having lost their last five matches, Gallagher couldn’t resist a little dig at Spurs as he told talkSPORT: ‘The whole entire thing seems to have fallen off a cliff but if we hadn’t won four leagues in a row, I’d be worried.

‘This is an inevitable drop off of maybe five or ten per cent and on Saturday, the one team we don’t want to play as City fans after four defeats in a row is Tottenham at home.

‘They do it to us every time they come there, they’re the biggest frauds in the football league.

‘They’ll get battered by Fulham at the weekend, no problem. But they always turn up for us.

‘I wasn’t expecting to win that game, I certainly wasn’t expecting to lose but 4-0 was a shocker.’

Meanwhile, Gallagher feels the main issue for City this season is that they are too reliant on Erling Haaland for goals.

‘To have Haaland as your only source of goals, you’re asking for it really,’ Gallagher added. ‘I know it’s going to be difficult to buy a forward who knows he’s going to be playing second fiddle to Haaland.

‘We’ve always had a [Julian] Alvarez or a [Riyad] Mahrez chipping in and Phil [Foden] last season.’

Gallagher, though, is not too concerned about City’s title rivals Liverpool, despite their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.

‘What I will say is we are very good at chasing,’ Gallagher said. ‘When it turns, we can sit in there. 11 points, is it insurmountable?

‘There is a lot to play for but I’m not heading [to Anfield on Sunday] expecting a win, I’d take a draw.’

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Tottenham are scouring the market for emergency replacements for Guglielmo Vicario after the Italian was ruled out for months with an ankle injury.

The club announced on Monday night that the goalkeeper had undergone surgery on his ankle.

Vicario fractured his ankle during Saturday’s 4-0 win against Manchester City at the Etihad.

The injury is set to keep the Italy international on the sidelines for months, in a major blow to Ange Postecoglou.

The club failed to sign a back-up to Vicario last summer, meaning veteran Fraser Forster has served as his number two.

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But the Telegraph say Spurs are exploring emergency deals to provide cover for Vicario’s absence.

The January transfer window opens in five weeks’ time, at which point Spurs could sign a new goalkeeper.

But the club are exploring free agents on the market as they desperately look to replace Vicario.

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Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario faces a spell out of action after undergoing surgery on a fractured ankle.

The Italian suffered the injury during Tottenham’s stunning 4-0 win at Manchester City on Saturday evening.

The goalkeeper was in fine form during the match and clearly completed the game in some pain as he made it to the final whistle.

However, Spurs have confirmed on Monday that Vicario has had an operation on his ankle, and while they did not state how long he is expected to be out for, it is set to be a lengthy spell.

A statement from Tottenham on Monday read: ‘We can confirm that Guglielmo Vicario has today undergone surgery for a fracture of his right ankle.

‘The 28-year-old suffered the injury during Saturday’s Premier League victory at Manchester City.

‘Guglielmo will be assessed by our medical staff to determine when he can return to training. We’re all behind you, Vic.’

Tottenham have a very experienced back-up in Fraser Forster, with the 36-year-old having been at the club since 2022.

The England international has not played a Premier League game since the 2022/23 season, but has been in action in the Carabao Cup and Europa League during the current campaign.

Vicario joins Ange Postecoglou’s injured list, which already includes Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Mikey Moore, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison, while Rodrigo Bentancur is suspended.

It is an extremely busy period on the calendar that Vicario will sit out, with Tottenham competing in the Premier League, Europa League and Carabao Cup over the next month.

Their next outing is a home game against Rome on Thursday night before hosting Fulham in the top flight on Sunday.

Romero is the closest to a return of any of the injured contingent, with the defender potentially available for the London derby with the Cottagers.

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Kyle Walker has warned that Manchester City will get ‘walked over’ by Liverpool if they don’t improve before their crunch Premier League clash next weekend.

City fell to a scarcely believable 4-0 home defeat against Tottenham meaning they have now lost five games in a row for the first time since 2006.

The concerning defeat leaves the defending league champions five points behind Liverpool, although Arne Slot’s side could extend their advantage to eight points should they beat Southampton on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola’s side, however, have little time to lick their wounds, with a Champions League tie against Feyenoord on Tuesday before a huge trip to Anfield next Sunday.

Should the Reds win against Southampton and next weekend versus City, they would then boast a commanding 11-point lead over Guardiola’s side.

And Walker has insisted his team must turn their fortunes around quickly or face another afternoon of misery at Anfield.

‘It’s a great game to turn it around and take three points from the team who sit above you,’ he told Sky Sports.

‘But we can’t put in a performance like that or we’ll get walked over. We have a Champions League game to prepare for that massive game on Sunday and keep within touching distance of Liverpool.’

Asked if the side’s poor form has seen them lose confidence, Walker responded: ‘I wouldn’t say we’ve lost confidence together. I’ve spent eight years with this group. You lose confidence as a team but we have to remember what we’ve achieved together.

‘What we’ve achieved in the past means nothing, it’s history. We have one team above us doing really well. We’ll keep fighting to the end as we always do.

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‘The best way to turn this round is on Tuesday. Hopefully, the mojo comes back and we see the normal City from the past eight seasons. ‘Your powers don’t just go. We know our qualities and weaknesses. You get a win, you get your confidence and we’re back to how we used to feel.’

Guardiola, meanwhile, accepted that a defeat to Liverpool could signal the end of their title hopes. ‘Yes. In terms of Liverpool winning, winning, winning it’s true,’ he said.

‘I don’t know what is going to happen, but the reality is here and we have to win games. Maybe the expectation is so high but we are not ready to start thinking about what is going to happen at the end of the season.

‘In the end, if we don’t win [the league] it’s because we don’t deserve it. We won it in the past because we deserved it.’

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Jamie Redknapp has slammed Ilkay Gundogan after the Manchester City midfielder’s leggy display in his side’s 4-0 loss to Tottenham.

The defending Premier League champion, seeking to stop the rot after four losses in a row, fell behind early after a well-taken brace from James Maddison.

And it only got worse for Pep Guardiola’s side after the break as Pedro Porro’s goal – followed by Brennan Johnson’s late strike – condemned City to their fifth loss in a row.

Much has been made of the absence of Ballond d’Or winner Rodri in midfield and it proved telling once again, with Ange Postecoglou’s bossing the game in the middle of the park.

Gundogan, who returned to the Etihad this summer at the age of 33, was paired alongside Rico Lewis in midfield but turned in a poor display on Sunday night.

And the German came under fire from Redknapp at full-time who felt the former Barcelona midfielder was struggling to keep up with his Tottenham counterparts.

‘Man City are off it at the moment,’ he said on Sky Sports. ‘They are short and things aren’t quite clicking in midfield with that balance.

‘Gundogan couldn’t get around the pitch today – he couldn’t get near anybody and his focus wasn’t right.’

Analysing Maddison’s first goal, Redknapp criticised Gundogan again, adding: ‘What happens with Gundogan and Maddison is one of the most basic parts of midfield play.

‘When somebody runs without the ball and they go in behind you just have to follow your man and Gundogan just makes one of the most elementary mistakes in football by not following [his man].

‘All he has to do is mark that run but [instead] he puts John Stones in a really bad position.

‘Gundogan has to follow that run and that’s a really poor from him. He just couldn’t match Spurs’ energy in midfield all game.’

The defeat leaves City five points behind Liverpool in the league table, although Arne Slot’s side can extend that lead to eight points should they beat Southampton on Sunday.

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