Mourinho confident Spurs can score at Leipzig despite Bergwijn blow

Tottenham's injury woes worsened on Monday as Steven Bergwijn was ruled out, leaving Jose Mourinho counting his lengthy casualty list.

Published : Mar 10, 2020 12:08 IST

Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho says his side will have different avenues to score against RB Leipzig.
Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho says his side will have different avenues to score against RB Leipzig.
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Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho says his side will have different avenues to score against RB Leipzig.

Jose Mourinho does not expect Steven Bergwijn to play for Tottenham again this season, but he still believes his side can recover its Champions League tie against RB Leipzig.

Spurs revealed on Monday that Bergwijn had suffered a "significant" sprain to his left knee during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Burnley.

The injury further limits Tottenham's attacking options, with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min already out until the closing weeks of the campaign.

Left-back Ben Davies will not be available against Leipzig either, with Mourinho's men trailling 1-0 after the first leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Read: Tottenham injury crisis deepens as Bergwijn suffers ankle sprain

The head coach still has hope heading to Red Bull Arena, however.

Reflecting on Spurs' latest injury misfortune at his pre-match media conference, Mourinho said: "I can believe it.

"Ben [will be] one week, two weeks. With Steven, I don't expect him to play again this season.

"We're used to it. I'd say we were psychologically more down with the other injuries, because when you've got four or five injuries, what's six or seven?

"We are losing 1-0 at half-time. We were losing 1-0 at half-time two days ago [against Burnley]. It's something that's happened to us a few times this season.

"You ask me how can you score two goals without Kane, Son or Bergwijn, but there are many ways to score goals.

"A Leipzig player could even do what Antonio Rudiger did and score for us [an own goal in Chelsea's 2-1 win]."

Defeat would end Tottenham's hopes of silverware for another season, having exited the FA Cup last week, but Mourinho is confident he will deliver success during his tenure.

"I believe that Tottenham is not going to be my only club without silverware," he said. "I won at every club and I believe I'm going to do it at Tottenham."

Dele Alli acknowledged the blow of losing Bergwijn, but he is adamant Spurs cannot feel sorry for itself.

"I think obviously firstly it's difficult to see Steve get injured, a new guy and a top guy," said the England international.

"I've shown that I like scoring goals, although it's probably not my most natural position. But we can't just get our violins out. We need to step up."

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