Son Heung-min, who has a suspected bruise, is expected to play. However, with the return of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Son could return to his natural position.
In predicting the starting lineup for Tottenham’s home game against Newcastle United on Sept. 9 (ET), British media outlet Football Transfer Tavern predicted that Heung-min could return to the front line in place of the striker.
Tottenham will host Newcastle in the 16th round of the 2023/24 Premier League on Nov. 11 at 1:30 a.m. at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England.
After a five-match winless streak, Spurs have dropped to fifth place (W8 D3 L4 D27). Newcastle, who have picked up three wins and two draws in their last five games, have moved up to seventh (eight wins, two draws, five losses, 26 points) and are chasing the top half of the table.
Tottenham took the lead at home against West Ham United in Round 15 on a Cristian Romero goal in the 11th minute, but conceded consecutive goals from Jared Boen and James Ward-Prowse in the seventh and 29th minutes of the second half to lose 1-2.
Tottenham have now dropped points after scoring first in five consecutive games dating back to the game against Chelsea in Round 11. With the exception of a 1-1 draw at Manchester City in Round 14, Spurs have lost every game after scoring first and have dropped 14 points.
Son Heung-min started the game as a frontline striker, but was subbed off in the 43rd minute. He was hit hard in the back by the opposing defense and went down on his own shortly after releasing a pass. As the attack was still in progress, he picked himself back up and was in a lot of pain as he was substituted and sat on the bench. He continued to feel pain and was unable to get up easily after the game.
In a post-match interview on the club’s broadcast, Son was asked if he was okay with the pain, and he replied, “I hope (it’s okay),” but he kept grimacing. He continued, “There was a powerful kick to my back bone. I haven’t had time to check with the medical team yet. We’ll have to see how it goes.”
Postecoglou was asked about Son Heung-min’s situation shortly after the West Ham game: “No update yet. We’ll see how he is,” he said, adding, “He was a bit sick after the game. It’s not unreasonable for some players to be sick. We will wait and see what the test results are. It’s for Sunday’s game. It’s a very important game.”
Postecoglou was first asked about Son’s injury the following day at the pre-match press conference against Newcastle. “There is nothing new, really. The most recent thing is that it was late last night and he had pain after the game. I don’t know more than that. We need to see how he recovers today.”
For now, it looks like Son is in good shape. Several British media outlets were predicting Son to start against Newcastle, with Football London predicting that he would play on the flanks rather than up front.
Lee Wilmot, head of football at the publication, said: “Son played with all his might against Manchester City. But I don’t think City were at their best. Brennan Johnson struggled against West Ham,” “Dejan Kulusevski is on the right and I think we’ll see a return to the starting lineup for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after a month and a half out of injury.”
If Son does start on the left wing instead of up front, it will be his first time back on the left in about four months, having moved up front in the 15th minute of the third round match against Bournemouth on Aug. 26 when Heung-min was withdrawn.
In his first start up front, a hat-trick against Burnley in the fourth round, Heung-min scored his first goal of the season and has been on a scoring spree ever since, scoring nine goals in 12 league games up front.
With Son Heung-min playing up front, or rather, with Henry playing on the left wing, he seemed to be performing better than before. By simplifying his movements a bit more and being more concise in getting into the box and looking for the finish, he was racking up attacking points.
However, he was briefly sidelined when he underwent hip surgery during the November A-match, and coincidentally, Spurs lost three straight games in his absence. He made his comeback as a substitute in the Round 14 match against Man City and then came off the bench against West Ham to get some match fitness. 캡틴토토
With some match fitness, it’s not unreasonable to see him return to the starting lineup. However, it’s unlikely that we’ll see Son Heung-min up front and the Frenchman on the left. It will be interesting to see how the lineup changes against Newcastle.
