Tottenham Hotspur are preparing for arguably the most important game of the season as Spurs travel to Germany to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-final.
Spurs drew the first leg in North London 1-1 and face a fight to seal a place in the semi-final on enemy territory tomorrow.
Tottenham need all hands on deck to get past the 2022 Europa League champions as they bid to salvage a disastrous 2024/25 campaign in which they currently languish in 15th place on the Premier League table, having crashed out of the domestic cups.
However, their woes have been compounded by the fact that Tottenham captain and talisman Son Heung-min did not travel with the squad to Germany for the clash.
Son, who has been described by former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho as a special player, missed the Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers over the weekend with a foot injury, and there were serious doubts about whether he would be available for the Frankfurt game.
Tottenham gaffer Ange Postecoglou has now confirmed that Son is not fit to feature for Spurs tomorrow evening, a massive blow to their ambitions.
At his pre-match press conference at Deutsche Bank Park today, Postecoglou said (via the Tottenham website): “Sonny did not travel in the end. He is the only one who misses out.
“He has been battling with his foot problem for a few weeks now and managed (to play) through it. He trained the last few days. He tried to train yesterday, and it was not right, so we made the decision to leave him at home to allow him to recuperate and see the best mode of recovery for him.”
The Tottenham supporting cast must step up – View
With Son sidelined, the spotlight now shifts to other Tottenham attackers. They need to rise to the occasion. Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson, Mathys Tel, and Dominic Solanke must seize this opportunity.
Odobert can cause problems with his pace and unpredictability, while Johnson is adept at stretching play and delivering in transition.
Tel has shown glimpses of brilliance since his January loan move, but will need to step up his game when they take on the Eagles.
Meanwhile, Solanke desperately needs to prove himself to avoid the flop tag. He must provide the cutting-edge Spurs sorely miss without their captain.
Tottenham must rally as a unit. If these attackers can shoulder the burden and find a way to break through without Son, Spurs may be able to keep their European dreams alive.