:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67572575/1277009403.jpg.0.jpg)
Tottenham Hotspur Women’s next match is a doozy — an away trip to last season’s FA WSL runners up Manchester City on Sunday morning. It’s a tough match, which won’t be made any easier by the fact that new signing Alex Morgan is, again, unlikely to be in the starting lineup as she continues to regain fitness.
In a Zoom call with English football media, Morgan reiterated how excited she was to be joining Tottenham, confirmed that Spurs became her favorite Premier League club in recent years, and also said she would not be starting the match against City, though she notably did not rule out making her debut.
#thfc Morgan said her long-term aim is to keep growing the NWSL and suggested the move is unlikely to be a "multi-year thing". She ruled out starting at Man City on Sunday but said she could make her debut from the bench.
— Dan Kilpatrick (@Dan_KP) October 2, 2020
In truth, it’s probably fine that she doesn’t. It takes a while for a player, even one as talented as Morgan, to get up to peak physical and mental condition after taking an extended leave from the sport. Manchester City are an outstanding team — even with Morgan in the lineup, the odds are long that Spurs would come away with a result in this match.
However, a debut would add just a touch of excitement and also make it more likely that Morgan could make her first start in a Spurs shirt at a later date. Tottenham play London City in the WSL Cup on Wednesday, October 7, and then host Manchester United on October 10.
The City-Tottenham match kicks off at 7:30 a.m. ET / 12:30 p.m. BST this Sunday. It will be streamed in the USA on NBC Sports Live and The FA Player worldwide.