Tottenham Hotspur's players have displayed great mental fortitude in the midst of an injury crisis at the club, manager Ange Postecoglou said on Friday ahead of this weekend's Premier League meeting with Leicester City.
A lengthy and growing injury list at the North London club has left them without goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, centre backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, as well as forwards Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson among others.
Spurs have slumped to 15th after one win in 10 Premier League matches, but a 3-2 victory at Hoffenheim in the Europa League on Thursday lifted spirits. The win leaves them sixth with one game left. The top eight qualify for the last 16.
"We should have light at the end of the tunnel in a couple of weeks, it's not as dire but there's always a possibility that before those guys come back we might lose a couple of these guys (players in form)," Postecoglou told reporters.
"That's always the challenging bit, that's what we're going through. It's been two months of hard grind for the players, just trying to support them as much as we can. Our schedule is not going to ease up at all.
"The resilience and the determination of the players to get out there and perform is a fantastic thing for me to witness, couldn't be more proud of them."
A number of young players including Archie Gray, Mikey Moore and Lucas Bergvall have been drafted into the team in the absence of injured regulars, but Postecoglou said he was hesitant about relying too much on academy players.
"We will benefit from the growth of our younger players, but we have to be careful with them, we can't ask 18-year-olds to keep dipping in and out," the Australian added.
"So there's no doubt we will get benefit from these players for many years to come, they've had a tough start to their careers. I think it's hugely positive."
DEPLETED SQUAD
Tottenham will be without 11 first-team players for the visit of 19th-placed Leicester and with the fixtures piling up Postecoglou can't rotate his vastly-depleted squad.
Stephen Smith, CEO of performance intelligence company Kitman Labs, said Spurs' escalating injury crisis is inevitable.
"When analysing Tottenham's congestion on a per player basis of the last 10 injuries to Spurs players, eight of them have experienced some level of fixture congestion in the build up to their injuries," Smith said.
Postecoglou said there was no getting away from the impact of so many absentees.
"I mean you can walk outside and say, 'Jeez it's really bright', and say to yourself maybe it's not the sun. But it is the sun, mate, we've just got injuries," he added.
Spurs will expect to snap their winless six-gamePremier League run on Sunday against Leicester, with ‎Ruud van Nistelrooy's side having lost their last seven league matches.
"t will be a tough game, Leicester are fighting to stay in the Premier League, but we're in our own tough moment," Postecoglou said. "Being at home will help us with the crowd, who will give energy to the players."