Conte explains why Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was subbed at half-time for Spurs
Speaking after the defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup last night, Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte gave an update on the fitness levels of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. With injuries hitting the Spurs squad, Conte was forced to use players in the cup game who he would probably have rather given a rest to. Conte […]
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Speaking after the defeat to Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup last night, Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte gave an update on the fitness levels of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
With injuries hitting the Spurs squad, Conte was forced to use players in the cup game who he would probably have rather given a rest to. Conte went with a strong line-up for the Forest game, including the likes of Harry Kane and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from the start.
(Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)
Spurs fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the City Ground, in a display which appeared to show just how exhausted many of the Tottenham players are right now. The away side were outrun all game, and Forest clearly deserved the win on the night.
For Hojbjerg, this was appearance number 20 of the season (Transfermarkt). The Danish midfielder has enjoyed a brilliant campaign so far, but has barely missed a minute of Spurs’ games, so it comes as no surprise that he was brought off at half-time.
Speaking to Football.London after the game, Conte explained the situation surrounding Hojbjerg’s fitness levels when asked if the Danish midfielder was okay.
He said: “Pierre is another player who played in every game, every game. I tried to manage the situation to spread the fatigue between Hojbjerg and Bentancur.
“We are talking about two players who have played every game. Only for this, he played only the first half and Rodrigo played the second. I decided this with the players.
“I repeat, in this moment, I can tell my players thanks for their availability, because other players, selfish players who think of themselves, could tell their coach they have a problem or aren’t available.
“Instead they are thinking of Tottenham and instead showing to be men and for this reason tonight I am a bit disappointed because for the will and the desire they deserved much more than to be going out of this competition.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The strain on the squad that’s come from this spate of injuries and the incredibly intense fixture schedule leading up to the World Cup was really telling last night. The players looked like shells of their former selves, and many of them desperately need a proper rest soon.
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