Tottenham confirm new serious injury after 2 late deals and failed £70m bid.

Tottenham signed two new players late in the transfer season, but they have been hit by yet another significant injury ahead of their trip to Liverpool.

Liverpool hosts Tottenham in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Thursday night, knowing they must overcome a 1-0 deficit from the first game. Arne Slot’s team enters that game with only one known injury, and early signs suggest Trent Alexander-Arnold’s absence will be brief. Tottenham, on the other hand, might be without up to nine players as they strive for Wembley, including new long-term absentee Radu Dragusin. Dragusin’s ACL injury was confirmed on Tuesday morning, and the centre-back is expected to miss the rest of the season.

He joins fellow centre-back Cristian Romero (thigh) on the sidelines, while Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies are fit but have only recently returned from their own layoffs. Ange Postecoglou will also be without Dominic Solanke (knee), James Maddison (muscle), Timo Werner (thigh), Brennan Johnson (muscle), Wilson Odobert (thigh), Destiny Udogie (thigh), and Guglielmo Vicario (ankle). While such injuries have caused Tottenham to struggle in both defence and attack in recent weeks, they did make an effort to rectify the situation at the end of the summer window. Lens centre-back Kevin Danso and Bayern Munich attacker Mathys Tel signed loan deals and are expected to be cleared to play in the semi-finals.

Tottenham were, however, unsuccessful in their attempts to add another centre-back, with a £70 million approach for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi turned down on deadline day. They were also rejected by Fikayo Tomori and Axel Disasi, despite having agreed agreements with both AC Milan and Chelsea; the latter instead chose to join Aston Villa on loan. Danso might make his return to English football against Liverpool, having previously made 10 loan appearances for Southampton in 2019/20. Van de Ven is expected to start alongside Davies or Archie Grey at centre-back, but considering Danso’s relative fitness, Postecoglou may opt for him right away.

Meanwhile, Tel should join Son Heung-min and Richarlison in attack, with little options other than 17-year-old Mikey Moore and Dejan Kulusevski, who is needed in midfield. Liverpool scheduled a scan for Alexander-Arnold’s upper-leg injury on Monday, with the results expected to be released to the media on Tuesday before a complete update from Arne Slot at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. The right-back will almost probably miss out against Tottenham, with Conor Bradley set to start. Spurs signed academy centre-back Luca Furnell-Gill from Liverpool after the transfer deadline, but the 18-year-old will not be in contention for the cup final.

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