Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou to make late fitness call on Destiny Udogie
Posted by  badge Boss on Oct 27, 2023 - 02:49AM
The left-back was withdrawn in the 55th minute of Spurs’ win over Fulham (Picture: Getty)

boss says Destiny Udogie is in contention to play against on Friday night but faces a late fitness test.

The Italy international, who has started all nine of Spurs’ Premier League matches this season, was of Monday night’s 2-0 victory over Fulham.

Postecoglou downplayed the severity of the issue after the match, saying he ‘just felt a bit of tiredness at half time.’

The Australian coach added: ‘We said we’d give it 10, 15 minutes. Again, short turnaround, once we got the second goal it made sense to take him off.’

Pape Matar Sarr was also withdrawn against Fulham after suffering with an illness prior to the game and while the midfielder has returned to training, Udogie is still feeling fatigued and will be assessed closer to kick-off.

Asked if the pair were fit to face Crystal Palace, Postecoglou replied: ‘The two main ones from the other night are Pape and Destiny.

‘Pape is fine, he bounced back sort of 24 hours after the game. He had a bit of an illness but has trained well.

Udogie has been excellent for table-topping Tottenham this season (Picture: Getty)

‘Destiny we are still going to assess. Obviously it is a short turnaround from the other night.

‘We’ll have a look today, see how things go and make a decision after that. Everyone else has come through fine and is available.’

He echoed those comments in a separate interview with the club’s media, saying: ‘Pape’s fine. He went into it [the Fulham game] with a bit of an illness but he’s bounced back well, trained well today.

‘Destiny we’re still gonna sort of have a look at and assess. It’s a short turnaround so we’ll see how he goes today and then we’ll make a decision tomorrow.’

Although Emerson Royal replaced Udogie against Fulham, Ben Davies has shaken off a knock that prevented him from featuring on Monday and could come in against Palace on Friday night.

Asked about the Welshman’s absence, Postecoglou said: ‘He is fine. He got a knock the day before training.

‘It is fair to say our training at times teeters on the edge and unfortunately he copped a nasty one in training. Just a knock but it was the day before the game so it kept him out. He has been training and is fine and ready to go.’

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