Team news is out for Sunday’s FA Cup match against Fulham at Craven Cottage, and as has been common the past few weeks, it’s a mixed bag.
First, the good news: Jan Vertonghen could make his long-anticipated return to the first team on Sunday against the cottagers. Jan’s been out for a month with ankle ligament damage suffered during Spurs’ win over West Brom, and Spurs have missed him a great deal in his absence.
Now the not-so-great news: striker Harry Kane picked up a knock to his knee in Thursday’s Europa League loss to Gent and is also a late fitness test. Both players are expected to train on Saturday, according to Mauricio Pochettino, and he will decide whether they play afterwards.
Meanwhile, Danny Rose and Erik Lamela are both still out, though Pochettino has expressed his satisfaction with the way both players have been rehabilitating in recent weeks.
After Spurs’ loss in Belgium, we have no idea what this means for Tottenham’s lineup against the Cottagers. We obviously expect some rotation, but I don’t have a clue what Poch will do. If Harry can’t go, it’s tempting to pencil in Vincent Janssen, but Poch might just as easily slot Son Heung-Min up top instead. It’s likely we’ll see Kieran Trippier and Harry Winks on Sunday, too. Maybe Michel Vorm in goal.
But will we see Kevin Wimmer? What about players like Josh Onomah, the recently re-signed Kyle Walker-Peters, or Cameron Carter-Vickers? Could we even see Marcus Edwards, who is recently back from a long-term injury and who didn’t feature for Spurs’ U18s today?
And most critically, do I dare end this article with a question?