Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou revealed a triple injury setback for his side and also discussed his own future ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Lilywhites bring the curtain down on a chaotic 2024-25 season at home to the Seagulls this weekend, where the fans and players may still be in Europa League party mode.
Fans lined the streets for a victory parade on Friday, as Spurs celebrated their 1-0 success over Manchester United in Wednesday's final, which sealed their first major trophy in 17 years.
As well as ending their torturous trophy drought, Tottenham's continental success earned them a ticket to next season's Champions League, making their bottom-half placement in the Premier League table trivial.
Postecoglou rotated his resources heavily during his side's run to the Europa League final, and the expectation is that the Australian will make another abundance of changes against the Seagulls.
Spurs' Son Heung-min, Cristian Romero to miss Brighton game
© Imago
Captain Son Heung-min - who was only a substitute in the Europa League final - would have been a candidate to start, but Postecoglou revealed at his pre-game press conference that the South Korean would not be involved.
Furthermore, defensive stalwart Cristian Romero will also be spared, and there are no guarantees that Yves Bissouma will be fit to face Fabian Hurzeler's Conference League hopefuls either.
"There will be a couple of absences, I should have mentioned that," Postecoglou told reporters. "Romero has been struggling with his toe for quite a while so we'll leave him out and probably Sonny because his foot has still not healed.
"They've both made a massive effort to get to the final. Bissouma got a knock in the game and he's kind of 50/50 at the moment. The rest of them, physically anyway, are ok."
Spurs will also be missing Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall and Radu Dragusin for the visit of the Seagulls, where the likes of Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore and Mathys Tel will be in line for promotions to the first XI.
Postecoglou opens up over Spurs future after television comment
© Imago
However, the biggest question this weekend will be whether Postecoglou is taking charge of Tottenham for the last time, but the Australian has already virtually confirmed that he will not walk away from the job.
Postecoglou hinted during the victory parade that he would be staying put for a third year in charge, telling the crowd: "In all the best television series, season three is better than season two!".
Elaborating during his press conference, Postecoglou added: "I should have thought about it a bit more because as somebody rightly pointed out, sometimes they kill off the main character.
"No, look I haven't had any discussions. Similar to before the game, I haven't had any discussions with the club. Like I said before the game, maybe they were just waiting for clear air to give me some guidance. But I haven't heard anything from the club."
Daniel Levy gave the green light to a four-year contract for Postecoglou back in 2023, meaning that the 59-year-old's agreement has another two years left to run.
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Ben Knapton
