Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has been dealt a crushing blow regarding Ivan Perisic ahead of Sunday’s Premier League North London derby with Arsenal at the Emirates.
The Croatian midfielder – who had come off the bench in all five of Spurs’ Premier League games so far this season – recently sustained an ACL injury in training and could miss the rest of the season as he prepares to undergo an operation.
Perisic will soon join a lengthy list of existing Tottenham surgical victims in Bryan Gil (groin), Rodrigo Bentancur (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) and Alfie Whiteman (ankle), while Giovani Lo Celso remains a doubt with a thigh problem.
Perisic’s absence will make no difference to the Spurs backline, though, as Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie all prepare for their North London derby debuts on hostile territory.
Pedro Porro and Cristian Romero will join the trio in the rearguard as ever, while Yves Bissouma should act as the deepest-lying midfielder once more, but he may have his work cut out for him against Mikel Arteta’s men.
The onus will be on fellow lynchpins Pape Sarr and James Maddison to offer more defensive support if necessary, while Dejan Kulusevski – scorer of a 100th-minute winner against Sheffield United last weekend – is a shoo-in up front alongside captain Son Heung-min.
Richarlison was named on the bench against the Blades following a challenging period off the field, but the Brazilian inspired Spurs’ astounding comeback with an injury-time goal and assist, and he should now be deemed ready for a return over Manor Solomon.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison
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