Tottenham have injury concerns after Son Heung-min was substituted against West Ham United after complaining of pain.
Tottenham suffered a 1-2 reverse against West Ham in the 15th round of the 2023-24 Premier League at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on Monday (Aug. 8). Son Heung-min started the match as Spurs’ frontline striker and led the team’s attack before being substituted in the 43rd minute.
Against West Ham, Son went down in the 37th minute after colliding with West Ham’s Kopal. Kopal deliberately crashed hard into Son as he was keeping the ball, causing the South Korean to go down in pain. Son then limped off and was substituted at the end of the second half. Heung-min had one shot on target against West Ham, but was unable to find the back of the net.
On August 8, the UK’s The Sun reported, “Son Heung-min is in tears as he is treated by the club’s medical staff. Tottenham are once again plunged into an injury scare. Son was seen in tears on the bench with a pained expression after being substituted against West Ham.
After the game, Son said he was “fine” with his injury, but “we’ll have to wait and see”. Tottenham manager Postecoglou was asked about Son’s injury after the game and he replied, “I don’t know. I’m not sure,” but a day later, he said, “He felt a little bit of pain after the game. We will see how he recovers today.”
Spurs were unbeaten in their opening 10 Premier League games this season, but have now gone five games without a win since midfielder Maddison and defender Van der Vaart suffered concurrent injuries in the 11th round of the Premier League against Chelsea. Spurs have scored first in each of their last five Premier League games but failed to win, making them the first club in Premier League history to fail to score first in five consecutive games. The loss to West Ham was the first time Spurs have lost three consecutive Premier League home games since 2008.
“We suffered an unacceptable defeat,” Son said of Tottenham’s inability to win despite scoring first. For five games in a row we scored the first goal and lost the game. The players have to take responsibility.” “West Ham have always been a difficult team to play against, but we didn’t react decisively. Especially in the Premier League, you never know what can happen at the end of a game, even when you are 2-0 or 3-0 up. The players have to take responsibility. If you are 1-0 up with an early goal, you need to show more energy. We didn’t do that and that’s why we lost the game.”
Tottenham surged to the top of the league, five points ahead of second-place Manchester City, after a win at Crystal Palace in October. Since then, Spurs have gone five games without a win, starting against Chelsea, and sit fifth in the league with a record of 8 W, 3 D, 4 L (27 points).