Tottenham Hotspur face a significant challenge in their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, with star forward Son Heung-Min ruled out due to a persistent foot injury.
The tie is finely poised at 1-1 after the first leg in London, where Pedro Porro cancelled out Hugo Ekitike’s early opener for Frankfurt. However, Spurs’ task in Germany is made considerably harder by the absence of Son, who has been managing the injury for weeks and was unable to train properly before the squad departed.
“He’s been battling with his foot problem… it wasn’t right so we made the decision to leave him at home,” confirmed manager Ange Postecoglou, whose position is under increasing scrutiny amid Spurs’ poor domestic form. The Europa League represents Tottenham’s last realistic chance of silverware and potentially securing Champions League qualification.
While Son’s absence is a major blow, Spurs receive a boost with the return of defender Kevin Danso after a thigh issue. However, Radu Dragusin remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury.
Eintracht Frankfurt, winners of this competition in 2022, also have injury concerns, with goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and midfielder Krisztian Lisztes unavailable. However, winger Ansgar Knauff returns to their squad. Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoller acknowledged Tottenham’s quality but expressed confidence in his own team’s abilities, dismissing Spurs’ recent 4-2 Premier League defeat to Wolves as irrelevant to this European tie.
The atmosphere at the Deutsche Bank Park is expected to be intense as Frankfurt aim to leverage their home advantage. For Tottenham, overcoming their inconsistent away form in Europe and the absence of their key attacker will require a resilient performance to keep their European hopes alive and potentially ease the pressure on Postecoglou. The winner will advance to face either Athletic Club or Rangers in the semi-finals.