Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a devastating double injury blow ahead of Thursday's Premier League London derby with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
RB Leipzig-owned attacker Timo Werner, who spent two years in West London from 2020 to 2022, picked up a hamstring problem in the first half of the Lilywhites' 3-2 loss to bitter rivals Arsenal at the weekend, while Ben Davies sustained a calf problem towards the end too.
Speaking to Tottenham's media channels on Wednesday, Ange Postecoglou conceded that both men would not play again this season, leaving him to sort out a crisis at left-back in particular.
Long-term quartet Destiny Udogie (thigh), Fraser Forster (ankle), Ryan Sessegnon (thigh) and Manor Solomon (knee) are watching on from the sidelines as well, but Oliver Skipp could return from the knock which kept him out of the North London derby.
With Werner confined to the treatment room, either Richarlison or Brennan Johnson will be summoned to the first XI, and the former is well-positioned to get the nod after making a complete recovery from a knee injury.
A slight tactical tweak from Ange Postecoglou could therefore see Son Heung-min revert to a wide role, as Richarlison joins the South Korean, Dejan Kulusevski and an out-of-sorts James Maddison in the final third.
The Spurs boss made a bold call to start Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg alongside Rodrigo Bentancur on North London derby day, and while the Dane cannot shoulder too much of the blame for his own goal, both he and his South American counterpart could now vacate their spots for Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma.
The lightning-quick Micky van de Ven is an option to fill in for Davies and Udogie as a makeshift left-back, but Emerson Royal should be drafted into an otherwise untouched rearguard.
Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:
Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Emerson; Sarr, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Maddison, Son; Richarlison
> Click here to see how Chelsea could line up for this match
Ben Knapton
