The Tottenham boss has been forced into a decision he didn't want to make ahead of the Europa League final
Comments
Sport
09:39, 16 May 2025
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou(Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
Tottenham's manager Ange Postecoglou has suggested he will make wholesale changes against Aston Villa this evening, acknowledging the need to prevent further injuries before the Europa League final against Manchester United next week.
Spurs will make the trip to Villa Park reeling from the blow of Dejan Kulusevski's injury, adding him to the list of key players sidelined before their pivotal match in Bilbao against United on Wednesday.
Their recent 2-0 loss at home to Crystal Palace saw Kulusevski suffer a knee injury, which has led to him joining teammates Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison in being ruled out of the final.
Tottenham rested key players including Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Brennan Johnson, and Dominic Solanke against Palace and he may choose to do so again against Villa.
Postecoglou had initially planned to use the Villa game as a chance to play his strongest XI ahead of the final but Kulusevski's injury has forced a change of plan.
"Look, in a normal world you use this to be sharpening up but we're not living in a normal world," Postecoglou told PA Sport.
"That's the reality of our existence at the moment where we can't lose another player to an injury. It's just too finely balanced for us considering what's at stake.
"If it's a muscle injury (for Kulusevski), then you question did we do the right thing, but it's something he gets tackled 20 times a season and nothing happens.
"That seems to be our lot at the moment and even with the best planning, we're still getting hit with these setbacks. From my perspective, I've got to take that into account when considering the game tomorrow night.
"We've always had to try to find creative ways to cover the absences we've had and we'll find a way to do that again.
"We can try a couple of things tomorrow night to see how they work and we've got to make our decisions from there. I think it's all in the realms (of possibility). When you're in this position you go through all the different scenarios.
"There's obviously a few players who will play tomorrow who haven't played regularly or a lot lately who will get an opportunity.
"There could be a performance tomorrow that convinces me to go one way or another. You consider it all.
"At the same time, even if you do something radical, whether it's a positional change, it's always better done in the confines of having a real solid foundation there."