Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison is the latest addition to the North London side’s lengthy injury list, manager Ange Postecoglou said ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Aston Villa.
The 27-year-old, who has been plagued with calf, groin, knee and hamstring problems since his move from Everton in 2022, went off injured in first-half stoppage time of Spurs’ 4-0 loss to Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final second leg on Thursday.
“It’s disappointing for him and he was emotional last night because he worked really hard to get himself back,” Postecoglou told reporters on Friday.
“It’s another setback that he’s going to have to deal with, we’re going to have to deal with. Hopefully get him back as soon as possible.”
Postecoglou’s squad have been hit hard by injuries amid a run of poor results but the 59-year-old is optimistic about the return of key players for their Premier League game against Manchester United later this month.
Guglielmo Vicario, Cristian Romero, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner and Dominic Solanke are all sidelined with injuries.
“We’re still hopeful we’ll get at least two or maybe three back for the Man United game,” Postecoglou said.
“We’ve got two full weeks of training, which I think over these two weeks we’ll get the majority of the players back with a bit of luck, provided we don’t lose anyone else like we lost Richy last night.”
Reflecting on the heavy defeat to Liverpool, Postecoglou said it was a tough loss but his focus was now on Sunday’s FA Cup tie.
“We were disappointed that last night didn’t go how we wanted and we didn’t perform at the levels – but that doesn’t define this group of players in my eyes,” Postecoglou said.
“We’ll go out there on Sunday and put out more of a performance that reflects where we’re at. I have a great deal of belief in these players and what they’re going through and how they’re dealing with it.”
Spurs have not won a trophy since their League Cup triumph over Chelsea in 2008 and now, only the FA Cup and the Europa League are potential routes to ending their silverware drought.
