Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Brennan Johnson was taken off during the Lilywhites' North London derby clash with Arsenal due to injury.
The Lilywhites maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League campaign with a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates, coming from behind twice to snatch a point.
Despite Richarlison's game-changing cameo against Sheffield United last weekend, Postecoglou left the Brazilian on the bench and instead brought in Johnson for his full debut on enemy territory.
The former Nottingham Forest attacker was denied a first goal by a magnificent save from David Raya in the first half, and his afternoon was cut short when he pulled up with an injury just after the hour mark.
Speaking to reporters in his post-game press conference, Postecoglou admitted that Johnson had likely tweaked his hamstring, although he could not give a definitive assessment of the Welshman's injury.
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Meanwhile, James Maddison suffered a concerning jolt to the knee, while Son Heung-min also looked a little worse for wear towards the end, but Postecoglou does not think that either man will be spending too long in the treatment room.
"Not sure with Brennan, it seems like he felt something, I think his hamstring. We'll assess that. Madders and Sonny weren't 100% going into the game but they got through it which suggests that it's nothing serious," Postecoglou told reporters.
Prior to Johnson's withdrawal, Spurs had fallen behind at the Emirates to a Cristian Romero own goal, as the Argentine deflected a Bukayo Saka strike into his own net, but a deft finish from Son drew the visitors level.
Arsenal benefitted from a controversial decision in the second half, as Saka calmly netted from the penalty spot after Romero was penalised for handball, but Son once again restored parity for Spurs after Maddison had robbed Jorginho of the ball in the middle of the park.
Postecoglou admitted that he was somewhat baffled by the penalty call, claiming that he simply does not understand the handball rule anymore, but he was "really pleased" with aspects of his side's performance.
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"I couldn't see but I've got no idea about the handball rule. I really don't. I saw the one yesterday at Wolves and it just seems if it hits your hand it's a penalty and then other times if it hits your hand, it isn't a penalty. I've got no idea," Postecoglou added.
"It is the one rule in the game I just don't understand. Unless we start developing armless defenders I don't know how you are supposed to block things and be in a natural position. It is what it is mate.
"You kind of hope these things even themselves out over the course of a year but I don't understand the handball rule. I have said that to referees in the past and I don't know how they see it to be honest.
"Really pleased. They're a top side, it's a tough place to come, not much went our way today. We conceded an unlucky own goal, then a VAR penalty, so it's not like everything was falling in our favour as well.
"Just a real character and resilience the boys showed, a real belief in the kind of team we want to be, even though there was times today when it was difficult to do that. They just kept persevering and persevering and that's a credit to them."
Moving onto 14 points for the season, Spurs occupy fourth place in the table ahead of next Saturday's headline clash with Liverpool at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ben Knapton
