Were you hoping for positive news about Tottenham Hotspur’s injury ahead of Saturday’s first game against Newcastle? Oh, you sweet summer child. There is no good news. Ange Postecoglou held his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against the in-form and outstanding Toon and confirmed that not only is Destiny Udogie unlikely to play for six weeks (compared to the eight previously hinted at), but also that the team will will have to contend with a virus that struck the team this week.

“Destiny – his Achilles tendon. Looks about six weeks for him. We lose Bentancur suspended. None of the injured have returned yet. We had a small episode of illness as some people weren’t training.

“At this point, (Richarlison) and Mikey Moore are the next taxis out, next week we hope. Ben (Davies), Micky (van de Ven) and (Cuti) Romero around the same time, at the end of January.”

I think this is good news as we have a firm schedule for some players to return this month. But that won’t help Ange at Newcastle, a team that is on a four-game winning streak and has scored 13 goals and conceded zero in the same period. Ange didn’t specify which players have been affected by the virus or whether those players will play on Saturday, but it doesn’t look good, does it?

Postecoglou acknowledged that the team is going through a difficult period where everything seems to be going against them, but in true Ange style, he didn’t complain about it, describing the spate of injuries and the compressed schedule as challenges that are “temporary.” be. ”

“Look, some of it, but some of it is just circumstances, some of it is simple, and I know we always want to have our head on a stick and we want someone to be to blame and there’s always someone to blame To blame, but some of it is just life.”, mate, you know, football is like life and you know how sometimes in life something goes wrong and later something else happens and you don’t do anything different, you just wonder : “Why is it always me?” am Wait?’.

“And you know what, it’s all temporary, you get through it, and we understand that some of that is a consequence of the situation we find ourselves in in terms of the fixture lists and the way we play, but some of it is just that way… you know. We lost Djed to a red card and he should start in Destiny. Fate starts, doesn’t get the rest, and then… it’s like that’s just life and sometimes it’s no one’s fault, no one’s to blame, you know, it’s just that we’re going through a bad road, but that’s it temporarily, we’ll manage. We will analyze areas where we can improve and go from there.”

The January transfer window is now open and Spurs are expected to sign some players to strengthen the squad. There have already been rumors that Spurs are exploring possible options at backup goalkeeper and left-back, two areas of need this winter. Ange was not invited to comment or explain the team’s transfer plans, but reiterated that the club has a transfer and recruitment plan in place and that the club will not be involved in “panic buying” just to fill gaps in the squad to close boat.

“It’s not about pushing, but the club is working hard to get help for the group of players. It’s no secret that we need to increase the number. We understand that January is not an easy month. At the same time, we want to make sure we’re doing what’s best for us rather than panicking and hiring people who aren’t a good fit for us.”

When asked about new signing Yang Min-hyeok, Ange was careful to lower expectations around his ability to contribute to the first team straight away. In short, we shouldn’t expect Yang to play for Spurs any time soon.

“There is a real plan or timeline (for Yang). Let him calm down. He is still very young and comes from the other side of the world, where the level is nowhere near the level he will find here. He has (son Heung-Min) here, which is a big help for him.”

Tottenham take on Newcastle in the early game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET / 12:30 p.m.