Four Spurs players reportedly ill

The current injury crisis that Tottenham Hotspur are going through is very well documented. It’s like something you’ve never seen before. Their three first-choice centre-backs, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies, are expected to miss at least the vast majority of the busy January schedule. First-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is expected to return in February or March.

Then first-choice left-back Destiny Udogie suffered an injury, which will rule him out for at least six weeks. Oh, and third-choice centre-back Davies is also Udogie’s deputy at left-back. So there you have it. Oh yes, and the other left-back option, Djed Spence, is only registered for the Europa League in the round of 16.

Up front, Mikey Moore has been ill for two months, while Richarlison has barely kicked a ball. As a result, Heung-Min Son and Dominic Solanke have been used like a bar of soap and are running on empty.

So it can’t get any worse, right? Well, Ange confirmed that there had been a virus illness within the team, and a report now suggests that Fraser Forster, Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray and James Maddison were ill. The report also states that “Forster is not ready to play tomorrow”.

Maybe it’s a hopeless situation, but maybe dropping Forster as not a guarantee to play means the others are? Admittedly, this is a bit of wishful thinking. Even that feels a bit like a nightmare, as dubious as it was at times. Brandon Austin, 25, has never played a competitive senior match in his career.

Additionally, the ever-reliable Paul O Keefe, who fans often turn to for Spurs news, was asked if there was any truth to it, to which he replied: “I avoid this place when the team will fall tomorrow. Good year.” Which could pretty much tell you everything.

Imagine if these four players were really all unavailable for the match against Newcastle United? In Maddison’s absence, Spurs could play Pape Sarr and Dejan Kulusevski as two number eights. That doesn’t seem too bad, although it would be a shame for Maddison personally, with New England manager Thomas Tuchel expected to be in attendance.

But at the back. Wow. Yves Bissouma was a player who some had suggested could fill in at centre-back, but with Rodrigo Bentancur suspended he will be needed in midfield. Alfie Dorrington, who made his debut for Southampton, will surely be among them. But who next to him? Young Dante Cassanova was on the bench during the defeat at Galatasaray, perhaps him.

Never, ever seen anything like this. Every club has had a depleted squad at some point before, but to this extent it’s absolutely insane.