Tottenham fatigue: Staggering numbers show exactly why Spurs are struggling

Ange Postecoglou has been forced to use the same set of fatigued players every few days over the last few months due to Tottenham’s injury crisis. A new report has now shed light on the fact that several Spurs players are at the top of the tree across Europe when it comes to total minutes played since November.

Ange Postecoglou has been shouting about his players’ workload

Over the past couple of months, Postecoglou has regularly been pointing the finger at the workload that some of his players have had to endure over recent months.

He did the same following his side’s defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday, insisting that he could not expect any more from his troops given the fatigue they have accumulated over recent months.

Some might view it as an excuse from the Spurs boss, but a new report has now dug into the numbers, and it turns out that the 59-year-old’s complaints are completely justified.

Numbers suggest Tottenham players have been extremely overworked

A report in The Telegraph has now looked at how many minutes Tottenham players have got under their belt this season in comparison to their Premier League and European counterparts, and it makes for grim reading for the Lilywhites.

The outlet reveals that since November 22, Pedro Porro, Archie Gray and Dejan Kulusevski have played more than 1700 minutes of football, which is more than any outfield player at any Premier League side.

In fact, Porro has got more minutes under his belt in that time frame than any outfield player in Europe’s top five leagues, with only Real Madrid’s Federico Valverde having played more minutes than Gray and Kulusevski.

Overall, 10 Tottenham players have played more than 1000 minutes of football since mid-November, five of whom have played more than 1,500 minutes of football.

No team in Europe’s top five leagues has more players who have 1,500 or more minutes under their belt, according to the publication.

Seven Tottenham players are on the cusp of injury return

While these numbers are alarming, help is soon on its way for the beleaguered Spurs squad, with as many as seven players now edging close to a return.

According to a recent report from The Times, Destiny Udogie, Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson are expected to return to training this week, with Timo Werner and Dominic Solanke not too far behind.

Postecoglou could thus finally get an opportunity to rotate his squad over the coming weeks and offer some of his overworked players some much-needed rest.

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