Ange Postecoglou says every other Tottenham player will have to raise their game if the club is to cope with the loss of captain and talisman Heung-min Son, starting with Friday’s FA Cup tie at home to Burnley.
Son scored his 12th goal of the season in the New Year’s Eve win over Bournemouth before departing for the Asian Cup with South Korea, and he will also miss the visit to Manchester United on January 14, a possible FA Cup fourth-round tie and potentially further games against Brentford, Everton and Brighton.
Postecoglou made no bones about Son’s importance to the team and said the forward’s absence is exacerbated because Spurs’ vice-captains James Maddison and Cristian Romero are both currently injured.
“Sonny, if you name a team of the year at the moment, he’s in it,” Postecoglou said ahead of Burnley’s visit.
He’s been a hell of a player for us. It’s a big loss for us, another one, and we’re going to have to really raise everyone’s levels to cover the absence of another significant contributor for us this season.
“I’ve been preparing for [his absence] since the start of the season but I wasn’t preparing to lose half a dozen other players at the same time,” he added.
