Jamie O’Hara says that any hope Tottenham had of keeping pace with the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal is now over, given the injuries and suspensions that Ange Postecoglou’s men have to deal with.
Spurs are still licking their wounds from the London derby on Monday and face the prospect of being without several of their key players for the next few weeks.
Micky van de Ven came off with a hamstring injury in the first half and although some reports suggest that the Dutchman might not need surgery, he is expected to be sidelined until the end of the year (The Telegraph).
James Maddison also came off with an injury in the first half against Chelsea while Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie now face suspensions following their red cards on Monday.
Meanwhile, Ryan Sessegnon, Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon remain out with long-term injuries, while Richarlison has undergone groin surgery and is expected to be sidelined for a few weeks.
O’Hara believes that we could see Tottenham crumble and lose significant ground to the likes of Man City over the next few weeks.
The former Spurs midfielder told Grosvenor Sport: “I previously said Spurs would struggle if they picked up injuries.
“With the calibre of injuries they’ve picked up to Micky van de Ven and James Maddison, and the three-game suspension to Cristian Romero, they can forget about winning the Premier League.
“I’m absolutely gutted for Spurs, to be honest. Romero was just stupid again like he was all of last season, then Destiny Udogie, who’s been one of their best players, will also be a miss.
“Losing Van de Ven is such a big loss for them – he’s probably been the best centre-half in the Premier League this season.
“People don’t realise how good he’s been and how important he’s been for Spurs. The reason they’ve been able to play that high line is because they’ve been starting centre-backs with pace.
“The fact he’s done his hamstring summed up the game for us – they were too tense and emotional, and we picked up injuries from having too much intensity in our approach.
“It could really affect them – they’ve got some big games coming up against Wolves and Manchester City – and they’re going to be without Van de Ven for, I’d say, six weeks.
“They’re still second in the table and they need to take positives – they’re still above the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool – but Monday was a disaster for them.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Most Spurs fans never seriously thought we were in the title race anyway. Perhaps some would have started dreaming of the impossible if we had brushed Chelsea aside, which we looked on course to do in the first 20 minutes of Monday’s game.
Our excellent start to the season means that we will still be in touching distance of the top four spots even if we have some poor results over the next month.
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