Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has played down concerns over Destiny Udogie's fitness following his side's 4-0 thrashing of Everton in the Premier League.
The Lilywhites made amends for their wastefulness against Leicester City in emphatic fashion on Saturday afternoon, where Son Heung-min (two), Yves Bissouma and Cristian Romero all breached the Toffees' meek backline.
However, Tottenham suffered a couple of injury scares to defenders of their own in North London, as Micky van de Ven tweaked his knee in the first half but was able to carry on, setting up Son's second of the day with a sensational solo run.
Meanwhile, Udogie - who missed the end of the 2023-24 season due to a quadriceps operation - was taken off on the 73-minute mark and looked a little worse for wear as he was replaced by Djed Spence.
Postecoglou was quizzed on Udogie's condition following the triumph, but the Australian insisted that the left-back was simply suffering from fatigue and tightness following his prolonged period on the sidelines.
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Postecoglou reveals hamstring and calf soreness for Udogie
"No, he was a bit sore. He had sort of tightness, both hamstrings and calves, I think," football.london quotes the Tottenham manager as saying.
"Again, he was really fatigued last week as well, so trying to get as many match minutes into him as possible through this early period just to get his fitness up. I haven't spoken to the medical team but when I spoke to him, he just said he felt tired."
Tottenham had already been dealt a bitter injury blow before the game with the news that Dominic Solanke would miss out due to an ankle injury, which saw Postecoglou reshuffle his attacking contingent.
Rather than start Richarlison against his former team, Postecoglou save Son the nod in the middle as Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and debutant Wilson Odobert also started in a highly attacking setup.
However, it was Bissouma - banned for the Leicester draw after inhaling laughing gas - who drew first blood with a 20-yard rocket, before Son pounced on a heavy touch from Jordan Pickford and rolled the ball into an empty net.
Postecoglou reacts to Bissouma goal after laughing gas suspension
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Spurs were briefly under pressure in the second half, but Romero's header and Son's second of the afternoon made sure of a dominant win for the North London crop, and Postecoglou praised Bissouma for a "disciplined" display after his recent misdemeanour.
"Yeah, Biss was good and we know Biss is a good footballer. It's about him being the best version of himself and he will only get there if, as we've spoken a few times, discipline is a big thing for him and I thought it was a disciplined performance for him today you know," Postecoglou added.
"Not just the goal he scored, but he had a really important job for us. He knew they'd sort of play fairly direct and he had to be there to mop up second balls and intercept things and he was clean for the most part in possession. So good performance."
Tottenham's next Premier League game sees the Lilywhites head to Newcastle United on Sunday, keen to rectify their recent St James' Park mistakes after a 6-1 loss in 2022-23 and 4-0 beatdown last year.
Ben Knapton
