Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has issued an update on the availability of Pape Sarr and Destiny Udogie for Friday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.
The duo have blossomed into crucial players for the Lilywhites under the Australian, but neither managed to complete the full 90 minutes during Monday's 2-0 win over Fulham.
Udogie - who made his senior debut for Italy during the international break - was taken off just before the hour mark, while a stricken Sarr was withdrawn just six minutes later.
The pair's early substitutions naturally raised concerns about their condition for Friday's London derby, as Tottenham aim to extend their unbeaten start to the new term to 10 Premier League matches.
Postecoglou spoke to Tottenham's media channels before addressing the media in Thursday's press conference, and while he confirmed that Sarr should be fine after an illness, Udogie will need a once-over.
© Reuters
"Pape's fine, he went into it with a bit of an illness but he's bounced back well and trained well today," Postecoglou responded. "Destiny we'll look at and assess, it's a short turnaround, we'll see how he goes today and make a decision tomorrow."
Alongside Sarr and Udogie's early exits, Tottenham were also missing Ben Davies for the win over Fulham due to a knock, but the Welshman should be back in the squad at Selhurst Park.
"Yeah he is fine. He got a knock the day before training," football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying in his pre-game press conference. "t 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 training and is fine and ready to go."
With Sarr going off in the second half of the visit of Fulham, Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - who have been bit-part performers during Postecoglou's tenure so far - saw out the game in the heart of the Lilywhites midfield.
Hojbjerg was brought in for his first Premier League start of the new season owing to Yves Bissouma's suspension, as the Mali international was dismissed for a pair of bookable offences against Luton Town before the international break.
© Reuters
Bissouma will be expected to return to the first XI at Selhurst Park, but Postecoglou does not believe that Hojbjerg's performance on Monday will make his selection headache any more difficult than it has previously been.
"It's no different to any other week. They're not really dilemmas, just choices that people in my position have to make and I've always made those decisions pretty simply and cleanly about what I think we need," Postecoglou added.
"Tomorrow night we'll start with a certain group of players and finish with another and it's about trying to get the job done. When that game's done, we'll look to the next one. It's good to have Biss available, he's been a big part of what we're doing."
Rodrigo Bentancur (knee), Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring), Manor Solomon (knee), Ivan Perisic (knee) and Alfie Whiteman (ankle) all remain sidelined for Tottenham as they recover from operations, although the former is slowly stepping up his recovery in training.
Tottenham have taken 23 points from 27 on offer under Postecoglou to sit at the top of the table - an all-time Premier League record for a manager in their first nine games in the competition.
Ben Knapton
