Published: September 21, 2021 3:49 pm
Last Updated: September 21, 2021 3:52 pm
Dutch international could miss Arsenal clash
Tottenham boss Nuno Espírito Santo remained coy surrounding the recovery period for the injury sustained by Dutch international winger Steven Bergwijn during Spurs’ 2-2 Europa Conference League draw with Stade Rennais last week.
🎙 | Nuno on team news: “Nothing has changed much. Still have players out and some players with issues from the previous game who we are managing. Yes unfortunately [Lucas and Bergwijn] will remain out.”
– via @AlasdairGold pic.twitter.com/FSBGUzICoe
— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) September 21, 2021
The Portuguese manager tackled a number of questions in his press conference in the run up to his sides Carabao Cup third round fixture with former charge Wolves at the Molineux, but failed to answer the key question regarding his availability for Sunday;
“He has an injury on his foot, a sprain, he twisted his ankle. It’s very, very painful and the decision was to protect his foot and at the same time keep doing upper body workouts and try to maintain as fit as possible. But the injury needs to settle down and prevent him from feeling pain. It’s very painful now.
I cannot answer that [if he will be fit to face Arsenal]. All the injuries have a process. We hope the players improve. We don’t enjoy it. It is painful to see them out. But at the same time we’re hopeful they recover sooner or later and can rejoin the group.”
Bergwijn absence amidst Tottenham attacking questions
Espírito Santo has come under fire recently when it comes to Tottenham’s inability to play the type of football that is commensurate with the hopeful overall trajectory of the club.
At current, Spurs have hit just three goals in their opening five Premier League fixtures while suffering heavy back-to-back 3-0 defeats at the hands of city rivals Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
Bergwijn has yet to truly settle to live at Tottenham after his move from Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven during the January window in the 2019-20 season. To date, the Dutch international has found the back of the net on just four occasions while adding nine assists in 56-appearances across all competitions in what is now the beginning of his second full season in north London.
Steven Bergwijn of PSV competes for the ball with Moreno Rutten of VVV Venlo during the Dutch Eredivisie match between PSV Eindhoven and VVV Venlo held at Philips Stadion on March 17, 2018 in Eindhoven, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
But despite his own struggles, Bergwijn’s pace, technical trickery, and attacking instincts that made him such a hit at the Philips Stadion from 2017 until early 2020 (27-goals & 33-assists in 81 Eredivisie fixtures) are ideally suited to how Nuno has previously used his wide options at Wolves; freedom of movement that relies on their pace and direct style of play when on the ball.
There is no telling how NES intends to right the ship at Tottenham, but having a fit Steven Bergwijn would hardly do his efforts any harm.
Read more:
Dele Alli offers ringing endorsement of Nuno Espirito Santo despite heavy Chelsea defeat
‘Our fans deserve much much better than what we did on Sunday’ Tottenham boss Nuno Espírito Santo reflects on need for attractive football
This article was edited by
Ben Browning.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Chelsea FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 5 | 11 | 13 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 5 | 9 | 13 |
| 4 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| 6 | Everton FC | 5 | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 5 | -3 | 9 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 5 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 | Brentford FC | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | Watford FC | 5 | -2 | 6 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 5 | -3 | 6 |
| 13 | Arsenal FC | 5 | -7 | 6 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 5 | -3 | 5 |
| 15 | Southampton FC | 5 | -2 | 4 |
| 16 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5 | -3 | 3 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 5 | -7 | 2 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 5 | -6 | 1 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 5 | -12 | 0 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 4 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 4 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 4 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 3 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 3 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 3 |
| Lukaku, Romelu | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 3 |
| Maupay, Neal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 3 |
| Gray, Demarai | Everton FC | 3 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 3 |
| Sarr, Ismaila | Watford FC | 3 |
| Greenwood, Mason | Manchester United | 3 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 2 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 2 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 2 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 2 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 2 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 0 | 3 |
| Cooper, Liam | Leeds United | 0 | 3 |
| Etebo, Oghenekaro | Watford FC | 0 | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 2 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Richarlison | Everton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Duffy, Shane | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 2 |
| Norgaard, Christian | Brentford FC | 0 | 2 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 2 |
| Rodri | Manchester City | 0 | 2 |
| Rice, Declan | West Ham United | 0 | 2 |
| Struijk, Pascal | Leeds United | 1 | 1 |
| Tanganga, Japhet | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 1 |
| Barnes, Ashley | Burnley FC | 0 | 2 |
| Ward, Joel | Crystal Palace | 0 | 2 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 2 |
| Schar, Fabian | Newcastle United | 0 | 2 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 2 |
| Stephens, Jack | Southampton FC | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 7 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 3 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 3 |
| Kovacic, Mateo | Chelsea FC | 3 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 3 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 2 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 2 |
| Saint-Maximin, Allan | Newcastle United | 2 |
| Townsend, Andros | Everton FC | 2 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 2 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 2 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2 |
| Pereira, Ricardo | Leicester City | 2 |
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 2 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 1 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 1 |
| Fornals, Pablo | West Ham United | 1 |
| Torres, Ferran | Manchester City | 1 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 1 |
