TOTTENHAM were dealt a major injury blow after Son Heung-min limped off just 17 minutes into the North London derby defeat at Arsenal.
The Spurs winger, 28, was taken off clutching his hamstring in the early stages of the game at the Emirates.
Son Heung-min handed Tottenham a major injury worry as he limped off just 17 minutes into the game at the EmiratesCredit: PA:Press Association
Mourinho helped Son off the pitch, replacing him with LamelaCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Son pulled up after chasing a long ball up the pitch.
After initially trying to walk it off, Jose Mourinho opted to take the South Korean star off.
Son was replaced by Erik Lamela – who scored with an outrageous rabona just 15 minutes later to give Tottenham the lead.
Ex-Bayer Leverkusen star Son has been a near-ever-present for Mourinho this season, playing in 41 of Spurs’ 46 games in all competitions this season.
And of Tottenham’s 46 Premier League goals, 37 of them have been either scored or assisted by one of Son or Harry Kane.
Speaking after the game, Mourinho said: “That’s football. I don’t know how long it is.
“It’s muscular. Muscular is usually not easy. He’s normally a guy who recovers quickly
“It’s an accumulation of matches. I gave him 30 minutes rest in the last match, but it’s still 60 minutes.”
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Son appeared to injure his hamstring chasing a long ball up the pitchCredit: Reuters
Lamela was the hero just after the half-hour mark after his outrageous goal gave Spurs the lead.
The Argentine, 28, set the Europa League alight in 2014 when he fired in one of the epic shots against Asteras Tripolis.
And this time Arsenal were the victims of the clever winger as his cheeky effort went through the legs of Thomas Partey and flew past Bernd Leno in the Gunners’ goal.
But Lamela went from hero to zero with 15 minutes to play as he was sent off for a second yellow card after whacking Kieran Tierney in the face with his forearm.
Elsewhere in an action-packed North London derby, Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dropped for ‘reporting late’ for the game, according to reports.
The Gunners club captain was benched for the crunch clash against rivals Tottenham.
And, during his pre-match interview, Arteta confirmed: “Aubameyang was going to start the game. We had a disciplinary issue.
“We have drawn the line, we move on, and he is on the bench. We have a process for every game that we have to respect.”
Alexandre Lacazette replaced Aubameyang in the starting XI, but it was Martin Odegaard – with his second goal in two games – who scored Arsenal’s equaliser.
Odegaard had netted a thunderbolt during the Europa League win at Olympiacos on Thursday.
And Lacazette scored a penalty shortly after the hour mark to put Arsenal in front for the first time, before holding out for a big three points and bragging rights, to boot.
Mourinho says Harry Kane could play at top level for Tottenham for another ten years
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
