Tottenham injuries are Ange Postecoglou’s fault, not bad luck – Jamie Carragher
Jamie Carragher has given his opinion on why Tottenham Hotspur have been undergoing a severe injury crisis under manager Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham Hotspur’s injury woes under Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou has repeatedly emphasised the challenges facing his Tottenham squad, saying, “These players need help,” and “Take eleven players out of any team for one game, and they will struggle.“
Indeed, Tottenham Hotspur have been dealing with an injury crisis that has left well over eleven first-team players sidelined. This was evident in their FA Cup clash against Aston Villa.
With so many key players unavailable, Postecoglou has been forced to rely on the same small core of eleven to twelve players each week for the past two months.
Jamie Carragher compares Spurs injury crisis to Liverpool
Understandably, the injuries have affected Tottenham Hotspur’s form and results—they are now in the bottom half of the table and have crashed out of both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
Despite changes to the club’s medical department, players continue to drop like flies. Football pundit Jamie Carragher, speaking on The Overlap US ‘It’s Called Soccer!’ show, has now shared his theory on why Spurs have suffered so many injuries.
Carragher attributes the Lilywhites’ injury crisis to the high-intensity football that Ange Postecoglou employs, comparing it to Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp’s management.
He said: “When you look at styles of play, now Tottenham are one of the most intense teams in the league, they press really high, they get the ball back in play really quickly from throw-ins and goal kicks. So, they’re always at it and we think that’s a good thing, that’s how we like football to be played, quick, on the front foot, exactly.
“But when you think of teams like that, you think of Bournemouth, you think of Jurgen Klopp. Liverpool last season, the reason Liverpool are doing better this season, I don’t think all of a sudden they’re a completely different team, they’re slightly different. I don’t think they’re a million miles better but they’re fit.
“They don’t have any injuries, Liverpool last season were in Tottenham’s sort of situation where they had like six or seven first-team players out, you go back to the Carabao Cup final, bringing kids on in the final and that had to be with how Jurgen Klopp played, now it’s slightly different with Arne Slot, there’s not as many injuries.”
Which Tottenham players are currently injured?
| Player | Injury | Expected Return |
|---|---|---|
| Guglielmo Vicario | Foot injury | February 2025 |
| Destiny Udogie | Quadricep Injury | 16th February 2025 |
| Radu Dragusin | ACL injury | 2025/2026 season |
| Micky van de Ven | Hamstring injury | Late February/March 2025 |
| Cristian Romero | Quadricep Injury | Late February/March 2025 |
| James Maddison | Calf injury | February 2025 |
| Brennan Johnson | Calf/Shin/Heel Injury | February 2025 |
| Dominic Solanke | Knee injury | March 2025 |
| Timo Werner | Hamstring injury | February 2025 |
| Wilson Odobert | Hamstring injury | February 2025 |
| Richarlison | Calf injury | Unknown |
Tottenham Hotspur’s injury crisis is not down to “bad luck”
The pundit expanded on his theory, stating that the injury crisis is not due to bad luck or misfortune; rather, it results from how Ange Postecoglou sets up his side.
He said: “You look at Bournemouth, they’re flying in the league but a couple of weeks ago, they went to Newcastle, they had nine first-team players out, Tottenham is the same.
“I don’t think that’s bad luck. I think sometimes you can have a little bit of bad luck, that can happen but when you’re continually getting muscle injuries, you’ve got to then look at the style of play from your manager.
“And think, ‘Okay, well, do we need a bigger squad if we’re going to keep with this manager and have this style of play? Or do we have to accept that this style brings a success but the fall down is that we’re going to bring their players?’
“So, has to be in the owners’ mind when they bring managers in and that was one of the reasons why Slot was chosen by Liverpool, when they analysed managers, not just about results and trophies, how often do his players get injured?
“That seems to happen a lot under [Ange] Postecoglou. So, I understand, he’s using that as mitigation and understandably as his best players are off the pitch. But is his style of play contributing to the amount of injuries that they get? I probably think there’s a good chance that it is.”
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