Tottenham Hotspur Ange Postecoglou has been hit with a couple of fresh injury blows following Sunday’s North London Derby.
The Aussie boss confirmed on Wednesday that both Timo Werner and Ben Davies will miss the remainder of the season after picking up injuries against Arsenal.
It comes after Destiny Udogie was also ruled out for the rest of the season and missed out on the 3-2 defeat derby defeat over the weekend.
Ange Postecoglou will now have some key decisions to make at Stamford Bridge tonight, with Spurs alarmingly short of options at left-back.
And it could lead to one Tottenham player making his first start in the Premier League since early February.
Emerson Royal likely to start vs Chelsea
With Postecoglou facing an injury crisis at left-back, Emerson Royal has already filled in for Udogie on five occasions this season.
The Brazilian is naturally a right-back but has proven to be a useful option for the Aussie this term due to his ability to play across the backline.
The Evening Standard claims Royal is ‘likely’ to step in for injured duo Davies and Udogie at Chelsea this evening.
Postecoglou’s left-back options ahead of Chelsea vs Tottenham
While Royal offers Spurs a solid option at full-back, the £26 million man isn’t exactly well-suited to playing in an inverted role. His last start in the league came in a 3-1 home win over Crystal Palace on February 2.
Ryan Sessegnon also remains sidelined but Postecoglou does have other options should he wish to switch things up.
Indeed, Micky van de Ven has played as a left-back during his spell at Wolfsburg. Postecoglou could introduce Radu Dragusin at centre-back and move Van de Ven out to full-back.
The Aussie also used a back-three during his spell at Celtic but he is yet to experiment with his set-up at Spurs.
Given the fact that Royal has already operated as a left-back this term, it does feel likely that he’ll come into the side tonight.
