Spurs face Manchester United in the Europa League final next Wednesday
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It is a cruel quirk that during the worst of Tottenham's mid-winter injury crisis, when Ange Postecoglou could barely string together an XI of senior players, their midfield options remained relatively healthy.
James Maddison missed five games from late January with a calf problem and Rodrigo Bentancur's eight-game domestic suspension was disruptive, but Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski all avoided serious injuries, as Spurs' defenders and attackers dropped like flies.
Now, though, Spurs' injuries in midfield are suddenly mounting and at the worst possible time as Postecoglou's squad prepare for the season-defining meeting with Manchester United in next Wednesday's Europa League final.
On Wednesday, Kulusevski had surgery on his kneecap after a heavy challenge in the 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace last weekend, ruling him out of the remainder of the season.
Kulusevski has been ruled out of the Europa League final after having surgery on the knee he injured against Crystal Palace last weekend
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Maddison (knee) and Bergvall (ankle) are also sidelined with ligament damage, leaving Postecoglou without a creative midfielder for one of the biggest matches in the club's modern history, as well as Spurs' final two league games against Aston Villa and Brighton.
Sarr, who started at No10 against Palace, is the obvious choice to fill in again against United, with Bentancur and Bissouma providing the midfield ballast, but the Senegalese is a runner rather than an inventor, well-suited to pressing but not known for his ability to progress the ball into dangerous areas.
Sarr, Bissouma and Bentancur have twice lined-up in a midfield three this season; the grim 4-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final decider, when Spurs failed to have a single shot on target, and the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, in which Postecoglou's side rallied from two goals down following the introductions of Bergvall and Maddison in the second half.
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The absence of a natural creator is by far and away the biggest concern for Spurs ahead of the final and only exacerbated by facing United's Bruno Fernandes, who, perhaps more than any other player in either squad, has the quality and nous to potentially decide the game.
If Postecoglou has a radical Plan B in mind, such as a change of formation, the visit to Villa on Friday night at least affords the manager an opportunity to experiment.
Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore have both played as No10s in the past (although Postecoglou played down the Frenchman's chances of starting in a central role, saying his deployment there for the last half-hour against Palace was a case of "needs must") while the return to fitness of Richarlison and captain Heung-min Son has raised the possibility of using either in a front two with Dominic Solanke.
Friday’s trip to Aston Villa gives Ange Postecoglou an opportunity to experiment if he has a radical Plan B in mind
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Freeing right-back Pedro Porro, who is now arguably the most creative player available to Postecoglou, from defensive duties feels key.
Even without such a pressing headache, picking a side at Villa Park is set to be a tricky balancing act for Postecoglou given the club's clear priority.
The manager has promised to wrap his players in “cotton wool” before Bilbao but only three of his starters from the semi-final decider against Bodo/Glimt in the Arctic Circle kept their places against Palace on Sunday, including Kulusevski.
Postecoglou will not want his stars going into the United game cold, having not played significant minutes in a fortnight, but equally will not want to risk further injuries or fatigue in what will effectively be another low-stakes occasion for 17th-placed Spurs, whose league season is long since beyond redemption.
Keeping the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Porro and Solanke ticking over but not stretched is likely to be the aim against Unai Emery's side, while Son will need more minutes following his first appearance in eight games against the Eagles.
Spurs would benefit from the momentum and positivity of a good result against top five-chasing Villa, who knocked them out of the FA Cup in January, but Postecoglou's side have shown enough against AZ Alkmaar, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt to suggest they can put their dismal domestic form to one side and raise their game with a different approach in Europe.
Few supporters, then, even those travelling to Birmingham, would begrudge Postecoglou treating their penultimate league game of the season like a glorified training exercise, provided the club end a 17-year wait for silverware against United.
When the fixture list was released way back in the summer, it was easy to wonder if Spurs' trip to Villa might be crucial to both club's hopes of Champions League football next season. And it is, although only because Spurs would qualify for the competition as Europa League winners.
For Postecoglou and the club, the priority at Villa is not so much a big away win in the top-flight but finding a way to ensure Spurs have a spark against United, and ensuring his remaining starters are in the best possible condition.
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