Tottenham is over, big bad news...The core board, pen, hamstring injury, tears, vice-captain Romero feels strange → Centerback duo are on the verge of annihilation

Oct 31, 2024

An injury evil has struck Tottenham. Mickey van der Penn collapsed due to a hamstring injury, and Christian Romero was also in a state of extreme fatigue. Tottenham are in danger of losing two key centre-backs.

Tottenham caught Manchester City but paid the price.

Tottenham advanced to the quarterfinals with a pleasant 2-1 victory over Manchester City in the round of 16 at the Carabao Cup in 2024-2025 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on the 31st (Korea time).

On this day, Tottenham manager Enze Postecoglou turned only the minimum rotation in the absence of Son Heung-min 'Man City Killer'. It has its existing power up to the mid field. However, he tried to change the defense. Pedro Porro and Destney Udogi, who did not have a suitable replacement in case of injury, did not start.

Instead, he put in a van der Pens that can be played as a left-back, and Radu Dragusin was put in the van der Pens position. Archie Gray came out as a right-back.

However, it was revealed that Van der Penn's physical condition was unusual even before the warm-up before the game began. It was released through SNS of fans who visited the stadium. Van der Penn decided to put up with the game.

Eventually, the accident happened. In the 11th minute of the first half, Van der Penn felt a problem with his hamstring and collapsed. Van der Penn's hamstring was a problem again this time. After competing with the speedy Savinho, Van der Penn began to touch his right hamstring. Eventually, he collapsed on his own.

Medical staff were deployed to check the condition of the van der Penn, but he was unable to play again. Van der Penn walked out on his own, but he was very tearful. He was also seen wiping away tears flowing with one hand. My colleagues comforted me from the side, but Van der Penn's mood was not relieved. Immediately, Udo-ki was put in as a replacement.

Van der Penn is a key force that should not be missed at Tottenham. Coach Postecoglou's offensive tactics are stabilized when Romero and Van der Penn are present. If even one person falls out, the gap feels big. The rise of Van der Penn is all the more worrisome because it is becoming more like a chronic disease.

Van der Penn, who has suffered a hamstring injury since he was at Wolfsburg, was injured twice in the same area last season. This season, the hamstring had to endure well, but two months after the start of the season, there was already a problem. The reason why Van der Penn showed tears is likely to be due to repeated injuries.

After the game, coach Enze Postecoglou said, "Fan der Penn felt something in his hamstring. I didn't hear the exact condition of the Pander pen, but I definitely felt something strange. We'll see what happens" he said.

Van der Penn said, "The hamstring is often injured, so it is unclear how long it will take to return. I once took a break for two months at the most or two weeks at the very least.

Van der Pen's injury is also a problem, but Romero, the vice-captain, is strange. Romero was replaced by Ben Ibis in the eighth minute of the second half. Romero didn't even complain of pain like Van der Penn did, but he was replaced. The replacement was somewhat justified at a time when Manchester City's offensive was well prevented.

The reason is that Romero wasn't in good shape either??After the game, Postecoglou said, "Romero was tired. I also had to consider replacing it at half-time. I didn't want to lose another centre-back after losing Van der Penn."

Romero showed his willingness to play despite Postecoglou's recommendation to replace him. However, Postecoglou did not intend to gamble with the player's physical condition. He said "Romero was fine with me, but my intuition was telling me I had Davis so I didn't have to take a risk", he explained.

With Van der Penn unlikely to play against Aston Villa, Tottenham's defense is on alert if Romero is absent. Even if you have Dragic, your performance has not been very good lately.