"It's just the way things are" – Ange explains curious Timo Werner absence from Spurs' EFL Cup QF

12/20/2024 12:55 AM

Ange Postecoglou has explained the absence of Timo Werner from Tottenham Hotspur's squad for Thursday evening's EFL Cup quarter-final against Manchester United. 

The Lilywhites won a dramatic encounter 4-3, taking a 3-0 lead through a Dominic Solanke brace either side of a Dejan Kulusevski strike.

Two quickfire errors from Fraser Forster allowed United back into the match before Son Heung-min seemed to finish things off, scoring directly from a corner.

And it's lucky he did, with Jonny Evans heading home a third for United deep into second-half stoppage time.

Spurs just about scraped into the EFL Cup semi-finals, but had to do so without Werner, who didn't feature in the matchday squad.

The Germany international has endured a tough campaign on loan from RB Leipzig and was even publicly slammed for his effort levels by Postecoglou recently.

Even so, Werner remains a valuable member of what is a Spurs squad stretched by injuries and suspensions.

Timo Werner: Ange Postecoglou explains EFL Cup absence

With that in mind, his omission on Thursday raised a few eyebrows. However, Postecoglou has revealed that Werner was simply ill.

"Yeah, he was sick, mate, it's just the way we're going, it's just like he woke up this morning with a fever and the doc went and saw him, he had a high fever and we had to rule him out unfortunately, so it's just the way things are," Postecoglou told reporters after the match (via Football.London).

Asked if Werner's illness 'sums up' the fitness problems Spurs are going through right now, Postecoglou responded: "Pretty much yeah. I mean I don't roll up to game day looking for good news, let me tell you, so yeah, it's just incredible.

"Like I said, this is 10 players off a senior list, and it's just ridiculous and the fact that we're still putting in these levels of performance with guys, Archie, Djed, these kind of guys, I mean.

"We're getting, I believe, some real enormous growth in this period that maybe won't be evident until down the track, but I just think there's there's so much sort of good stuff in there at the moment, even though it's a tough period still."

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