Tottenham Hotspur could see a few names come off their lengthy list of the walking wounded this Sunday. Midfield maestro James Maddison, first choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and right back supreme Destiny Udogie could, or more likely should, be in the squad versus Manchester United.
Having Maddison, Udogie and Vicario back could make a huge difference.
Man United at Tottenham Hotspur FYIs
Kick off: Sun. Feb 16, 4:30, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, UK
Team News: Tottenham Hotspur Man United
Starting XI Predictions: Tottenham Hotspur Man United
Google Result Probability: Tottenham Hotspur 39% Manchester United 35% Draw 26%
PL Form, Position: Tottenham LLLLW, 27 pts, 14th Manchester United DWLWL, 29 pts, 13th
Team News for Both Sides
Elsewhere Timo Werner and Cristian Romero, both of which are dealing with thigh injuries, are not far off themselves.
The duo might not be ready for this weekend, but they could potentially be back the following weekend. Spurs boss Ange Postecoglu got another boost as well, in the form of Wilson Odobert, as the summer signing is now back in training.
Meanwhile Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke are about two to three weeks away, or so it is estimated, at this point.
And to wrap up the Spurs injury/team news/fitness situation, Radu Dragusin (surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury) is of course done for the season and Richarlison (calf injury) is out indefinitely.
Shifting gears to Man United, the only fresh injury update revolves around backup goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
He has an undisclosed issue, of which manager Ruben Amorim said:
“Altay, I think he has a problem. So, he is not available for the game. Tom (Heaton) is also not for this game, but he can play the other ones [in the future].”
Elsewhere the goalposts have been moved back again in terms of the injury return timeline for Luke Shaw. What else is new? That train is never late.
Lucha Martinez is done for the season while Mason Mount and Jonny Evans are out indefinitely.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.