Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has stated that Ashley Phillips, Brennan Johnson, and Giovani Lo Celso will all be available to face Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.
Richarlison and Dejan Kulusevski scored either side of halftime in a 2-0 win at the City Ground last Friday, putting Spurs just one point below Club World Cup contender Manchester City in fifth position.
Johnson, a former Tricky Trees forward, started against his former team last Friday, but he was forced to leave the game early due to a serious gash to the head.
Blood was streaming from Johnson’s wound when he was replaced by Oliver Skipp, but Postecoglou declared immediately after the game that he had avoided a concussion, which would have rendered him unavailable for this game.
Postecoglou told Tottenham’s media outlets on Friday that Johnson will be fine to face the Toffees, saying, “Brennan’s fine, he’s trained all week.”
Furthermore, the Spurs manager said that midfielder Lo Celso, who has resurrected his Tottenham career under the Australian, has recovered from the knock that kept him out of the triumph over Forest.
Lo Celso’s availability will be useful because Yves Bissouma has begun a four-game suspension for his red card at the City Ground, while left-back Destiny Udogie is out for one game owing to a yellow card accumulation.
“Everyone else is fine; we get Gio Lo Celso back; he’s been trained and is available.” “Obviously, we’re missing two lads due to suspensions, but everyone else is fine,” Postecoglou remarked, before confirming in his pre-game news conference that 18-year-old defender Phillips was back in the lineup.
However, the Lilywhites continue to be short on long-term injury victims, such as Alfie Whiteman, James Maddison, and Rodrigo Bentancur, who are all recovering from ankle problems.
Manor Solomon and Ivan Perisic are also recovering from knee surgeries, while Ryan Sessegnon and Micky van de Ven are out with major thigh injuries.
Postecoglou provided an update on Van de Ven and Maddison, two foundations of his club early in the season, confirming that the duo are making improvement but are still some distance from a recovery.
“They’re improving, but they’re nowhere near being considered for any first-team duties,” Postecoglou said of the Dutch defender and English playmaker.
Tottenham is 11 points and 17 points ahead of Everton in the table coming into Saturday’s match, but Sean Dyche’s side is riding a four-game winning streak in the Premier League.
Although the Toffees defeated Chelsea, Newcastle United, Burnley, and Nottingham Forest, they were knocked from the EFL Cup on penalties by Fulham in Tuesday’s quarter-final.
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