South Korea's Son Heung-min had a sensational 2017/18 campaign for a number of reasons. 

The midfielder managed to score 18 times in all competitions for Spurs, before having a great World Cup that included beating Germany, and topped it off with winning the Asian Games for his country.

In fact, the Asian Games may be regarded as this season, but that may be part of the reason why he has not starting this season as well as fans may have hoped- he has had no rest.

The World Cup has proved to be taxing enough for many players in Tottenham's squad, but with the added pressure that Son had of effectively playing for his career, he must be seriously fatigued. After failing to register an assist or find the back of the net so far this campaign, the South Korean has struggled to make an impact.

Those are just simple stats, however. If people were to watch him play, he seems much more lethargic than he did this time last season, and consequently fails to make as much of an impact on games. His high-energy approach is one of his key attributes, but that just doesn't seem to be as apparent.

But the player cannot be blamed for this. Surely, he would want to play and he may feel that his is up to scratch. It is down to the coaching staff to assess this, and they probably should have given him a break after his national exploits.

However, with fatigue throughout the squad, as well as a minor injury crisis at Spurs (which could be a reflection of the fatigue), manager Mauricio Pochettino has had no choice but to play him, and the club may pay the price as the season goes on.