It is still unclear whether Son Heung-min (31), who has raised concerns about injury, will play against Newcastle.
Tottenham said on its official website on the 9th (Korea time), “Coach Enze Postecoglou talked about Son Heung-min’s physical condition. I mentioned that we have to wait a little longer.”
Son Heung-min was replaced at the end of the second half in the 15th round of the 2023-2024 English Premier League (EPL) against West Ham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, the previous day.
At the 37th minute of the second half, Son Heung-min collided with Vladimir Coufal. Having hard hit his waist and knees, he collapsed and complained of pain. Later, he limped off and felt uncomfortable. Eventually, Postecoglou called in Son at the 43rd minute of the second half. He limped to the bench and grimaced as if he was in pain. After the match, he greeted the audience but his face looked dark.
When asked about Son’s injury after the match, Postecoglou said, “I’m not sure. I’m not sure.”
Tottenham will have to play Newcastle three days after the match against West Ham. The team will play Newcastle in the 16th round at 1:30 a.m. on the 11th. “Nothing has been updated yet,” Postecoglou said of Son’s participation and injury ahead of the match against Newcastle on the 9th. “He felt pain after the match and we will wait and see what the situation is. We have to wait until Sunday,” he said. “There is no additional injury concern other than Son.”
The U.K. also expects that Son will not be able to play in the match against Newcastle. The Sun of England said, “Tottenham has had another fear of injury,” introducing Son as being replaced in the match against West Ham and in pain on the bench. “Son Heung-min shed tears,” he said.
Metro also predicted that Tottenham’s entry into the fourth place in the EPL will not be easy if Son is placed on the injured list following James Maddison, Mickey Vanderben, and Rodrigo Bentancur. “Tottenham has been doing well enough to compete for the lead early in the season, but it has fallen to the fifth place. Manchester City, which has been criticized a lot this season, is now on the same level of points as Manchester City.”
Tottenham was in the early part of its history before falling into a slump this season. While playing 10 matches, he was the only team in the EPL that had no loss (8 wins and 2 draws). However, his slump began as he suffered a crushing defeat of 1-4 in the 11th round against Chelsea. His performance was affected by the loss of Madison, which boasted of fantastic teamwork with Son Heung-min, by bringing creativity to Tottenham’s attack. After the match against Chelsea, he had one draw and three losses, falling into a four-game winless streak. Except for Manchester City’s tie during the period, all of them scored the first goal and turned the tables.
Madison had three goals and five assists in 11 league games before his injury. Madison, one of the top-rated playmakers in the league, signed a five-year contract with Tottenham last summer with a transfer fee of 45 million pounds. He will reportedly be able to return to the club only in January next year.
Vanderben played in 11 league matches, recording an average of 1.7 tackles and 3.1 clearing per game. The success rate of his passes has reached 95%. Tottenham’s defense is also faltering as Vanderben, dubbed the “second Van Dyck,” is absent. Romero returned to action against West Ham, but Vanderben’s absence was clearly felt.
Tottenham came from behind to lose the match against West Ham by giving up two goals through error-based plays. They also left a disgraceful record. They lost their third consecutive home game for the first time in 15 years since 2008. Tottenham lost even after scoring the first goal in all of the previous five matches that they failed to win. According to Opta, the team became the first team in the history of EPL to lose even after scoring the first goal in five consecutive matches.
Christian Romero scored the first goal in the 11th minute of the first half of the game, which overwhelmed the first half. However, in the 6th minute of the second half, Jarrod Bowen scored the equalizer, and Destiny Udogi’s back pass was used as an excuse to allow James Wardprouse to score a come-from-behind goal.
Son, who started as a front-line striker, struggled but failed to score an attack point with only one shot. Son displayed active movements early in the game, but his influence diminished in the second half. In the first minute of the first half, Son stabbed a forward pass to Klosevski, who was rushing to the front, but Kulusevski collided with the goalkeeper and the chance was dashed.
A minute later, Son Heung-min’s amazing forward pass came out again. Son Heung-min sprayed a forward pass toward Udogi, who penetrated into the back of the defense. Udogi was caught in the defense after touching the ball, but it was a great pass.
Son Heung-min’s only shot came in the 17th minute of the first half. Son Heung-min, who caught the ball near the arc circle, hit a right-footed shot but headed straight to the goalkeeper.
According to the soccer statistics media “Foot Mob,” Son recorded one shot and two key passes. The success rate of his passes was not as high as 79.1 percent (34/43). It was regrettable that he recorded fewer shots than usual (53 times).
“Footmob” gave Son a 7.3, the fourth highest rating in Tottenham. Christian Romero, who scored the opening goal, had the highest score at 8.5, followed by Pedro Porro (7.9), Brennan Johnson (7.4), and Son. Another statistical news outlet, “Huscoord Dotcom,” had similar ratings. Son received the third highest rating at 7, following Romero (7.9) and Pedro Porro (7.7).
However, different media outlets gave Son a mixed rating. The British “Football London” gave Son a rating of 4. Destiny Udoggi, who provided an excuse for a come-from-behind goal, Dejan Kluszewski, and Pierre-Emile Hoibier, the central midfielder, also received four points. Media outlets reported that Son’s performance was poor. “I limped when I was replaced at the end of the second half.” The Evening Standard gave Son five points, the lowest score in his team, along with Udoggi and Ben Davies.
Son also expressed deep regret. We need to feel a sense of self-reflection and responsibility for losing the game in the lead-up to the match.” According to Amazon Prime on the day, Son said, “We lost the game. Defeat is unacceptable, regardless of whether we deserve better or not. You cannot lose while leading the game. As a player, you must take responsibility.”
“(We scored the first goal) but 1-0 was not enough. We should have won the game. There is no reason for our fans to accept this result. If we had been leading 1-0, we should have poured more energy into the game. However, we failed to do so and lost the game,” he said, expressing strong regret. 파워볼게임
“If we are given the flow to finish the game, we have to solve it better,” Son said. “But we lost and we have to overcome it again.” He stressed that the responsibility lies largely with himself and the strikers for failing to score more goals. “We have to feel responsible, especially for our strikers, for not finishing the game,” Son said. “It is very sad and disappointing for the fans. I want to recover as a team soon as possible.”
“We controlled it well, but we had to score more goals. And we conceded two easy goals to West Ham,” Postecoglou said after the defeat to West Ham. “We got nothing in this game. In terms of what needs to be done, and the fans will be disappointed. Tottenham still has a long way to go. This game illustrates that well.”
Tottenham is determined to end its winless streak against Newcastle in the 16th round of the EPL on the 11th. Currently, Newcastle is in seventh place in the league with eight wins, two draws and five losses (26 points). If Tottenham loses the next game, its ranking is expected to fall further.