Destiny Udogie injury adds to Tottenham crisis as Ange Postecoglou prepares for season defining week | OneFootball

Spurs were four minutes away from sealing a much needed victory against Wolves

Tottenham ended 2024 with a frustrating 2-2 draw with Wolves following Jorgen Strand Larsen’s 87th-minute equaliser in north London.

Hee-chan Hwang opened the scoring for the visitors with a fine finish from a well-worked free-kick but Rodrigo Bentancur headed home Pedro Porro’s corner to equalise.

Johnson, though, scored five minutes later in first-half stoppage time to ensure Spurs went in ahead at half-time.

Here are three Spurs talking points from the match:

Draw will do little to lift the gloom

A 2-2 draw ensured Spurs did not end the week with a hat-trick of defeats but the result must have felt more like another loss for Postecoglou.

Wolves are enjoying a bounce under new head coach Vitor Pereira, who is now unbeaten in his first three games in the Premier League, but leading 2-1 in the 87th-minute, Spurs should really have seen out a much-needed victory against one of the League’s strugglers.

If they had held on, it might have felt like a turning point in their rough winter, particularly with a rare week off before next weekend’s visit of Newcastle.

Instead, the mood will remain glum and tetchy, while an injury to Destiny Udogie and Bentancur’s late booking, which rules him out of Saturday’s game, have only added to Postecoglou’s selection problems.

Dejected: Ange Postecoglou consoles Pape Matar Sarr after Tottenham’s draw with Wolves.

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There are obviously mitigating factors to Spurs dismal form (it is now one win in the League in December) but they are increasingly being cut adrift in the battle for European football and now trail fourth-placed Chelsea by 11 points and Manchester City in fifth by nine.

Their season increasingly feels dependent on further progress in the cups, with the Newcastle game kicking off a huge week, including the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool and the FA Cup third-round against non-League Tamworth.

There were some reasons for encouragement from this scrappy draw but Spurs’ results simply must improve in 2025, starting next weekend.

Son’s miss reflects low confidence

Son’s penalty miss was quickly forgotten, with Johnson scoring six minutes later, but it was a difficult moment for the Spurs captain, pointing to a lack of confidence and fatigue – both physical and mental.

Son had barely been in the game before he stepped up from spot after Andre’s clumsy challenge on Johnson and he was similarly quiet at the start of the second half before being replaced by Timo Werner just after the hour-mark. Werner was characteristically patchy but carried far more threat than Son down the left flank.

Son's only memorable contribution aside from the spot-kick was a trademark surge forward shortly afterwards, as he tried to make amends, but he was tackle on the edge of the box.

Penalty miss: Heung-min Son had his spot-kick saved with the score at 1-1.

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As Postecoglou has repeatedly pointed out, a combination of the schedule and Spurs’ injury crisis have meant far too much football for his fit players and, more than anyone else, Son looks in need of a rest.

Spurs now have six days until Newcastle visit on January 4 – their first free mid-week since August (excluding international breaks) – during which Mikey Moore and Richarlison should return to training, boosting Postecoglou’s options in Son’s position.

The contrast between Son and Kulusevski, who was outstanding, was particularly striking, the Swede making the winner, holding up the ball superbly and playing with relentless energy until the last. For now, Kulusevski rather than Son is Spurs' talisman but the hope that a rest and some returning players will help to freshen up the Korean for the second half of the season.

Udogie injury adds to Spurs’ injury crisis

Tottenham’s relentless injury problems appeared to deepen when Udogie pulled up at the start of the second half clutching his hamstring.

Postecoglou was already missing defenders Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies to muscle injuries, as well as Djed Spence to suspension, and the last thing he needs is a serious injury for Udogie, who will be assessed in the coming days.

Injury blow: Destiny Udogie limped off early in the second half.

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It was a measure of Spurs’ situation that the Italian was replaced by the lesser spotted Sergio Reguilon, who made his first League appearance for Spurs since April 2022 in a 1-0 defeat to Brighton under Antonio Conte.

Spence has at least given Postecoglou another viable option at full-back following some smart displays over Christmas, but the issue for Postecoglou has been less about picking a passable XI and more about an inability to rotate for the gruelling run of games.

Reguilon did OK, recycling the ball and getting forward well. If Udogie is set for a spell on the sidelines, the Spaniard will likely have to play again before his contract is up in the summer.