Soccer Football - Premier League - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - August 15, 2021 Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min celebrates with Steven Bergwijn after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club /league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.
Tottenham Hotspur head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has provided an update on the fitness of Son Heung-Min and Steven Bergwijn.
The Lowdown: Growing list of absences
Having topped the Premier League table at the end of August after three straight 1-0 victories, Spurs were heavily defeated at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Eric Dier was forced off injured in the first half and Japhet Tanganga was sent off as Palace scored three times in the final 15 minutes to hand Nuno his first league defeat as Spurs manager.
Tottenham were without a bunch of first team players, with Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso, Davinson Sanchez, Ryan Sessegnon, Son and Bergwijn all missing the trip to Selhurst Park.
The Latest: Nuno hoping to have duo back for Chelsea clash
As per Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic, the manager has at least hinted that the Korean and Dutch forwards could feature in next week’s clash at home to in-form Chelsea.
Nuno claimed that the duo will “hopefully improve and be available for the game next week” after the defeat at Palace, whilst Romero, Lo Celso and Sanchez are likely to miss the clash as they are only due to arrive in London on Saturday, just one day before the match.
The Spurs boss also said: “I believe that we have a good squad and enough quality and talent to overcome all the situations.”
The Verdict: Not the time to panic
Tottenham’s defeat at Palace has stopped them in their tracks, but remember that they won their first three league fixtures of the season and have bolstered their squad whilst keeping Harry Kane.
There are certainly areas for improvement for Spurs, but they have still made a good start to the season and having Son and Bergwijn back for the Chelsea game would provide a lift to the squad.
The Dutchman has previous in terms of scoring against elite opposition, memorably netting against Manchester City on his north London debut, while Son had the second-highest tally of goal contributions (27) at the club in 2020/21. Therefore, Nuno’s cautious optimism that the pair might be fine to feature against the Blues is quite pleasing to hear.
In other news, a BBC pundit has welcomed news of a new role for Daniel Levy. Find out more here.
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