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Tottenham vs Manchester United: Jose Mourinho wary of fresh Spurs injury problems

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I

Jose Mourinho admits he is wary of risking fresh injuries ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League restart against Manchester United next Friday.

Tottenham faced Premier League opposition for the first time since mid-March on Friday. Spurs hosted Norwich in a friendly match divided into four periods of 30 minutes, the visitors running out 2-1 winners.

Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty I

Harry Kane, Moussa Sissoko, Heung-min Son and Steven Bergwijn all made successful returns to the field after recovering from injuries suffered prior to the Premier League’s enforced suspension.

However, with nine games to come in quick succession, including a visit from London rivals West Ham just four days after the Man United game, Mourinho is looking to protect his players at all costs.

And Tottenham – who sit eighth in the Premier League, seven points off Chelsea in fourth – will now prepare for United exclusively on the training ground after their proposed friendly against Reading on Saturday was cancelled.

Speaking about the Norwich friendly in an interview with Spurs, Mourinho said: “We decided to mix them and to give almost the same amount of minutes to everyone.

“We didn’t want any players to be into the limits of fatigue and of course nobody played the four periods.

“What we work on tactically we do in the training ground but the match was much more about competing, getting minutes, intensity and it’s very important to do it and to have this last week without any injuries.

“We all know that in these first matches, and in the friendlies, there’s also the risk of getting some injuries.”

“We needed minutes, we needed to know the feeling of playing here without our supporters and to have these training sessions with another Premier League team is the best thing,” he added.

“We have to adapt to this new reality, which is what we tried to do, to have a feeling of playing with an empty stadium.

“The points are there to fight for, and with or without fans, the points are there on the pitch and ourselves and United will have to fight for them.”

MATT DAVIES I EveningStandard

Written by Maraaz

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in North Korea Sunday, June 7, 2020. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

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