Tottenham's hopes of securing a top-four finish in the Premier League have suffered a major blow as Jose Mourinho has confirmed he is expecting to be without Son Heung-Min for the remainder of the season.
Spurs confirmed on Tuesday that the forward suffered a broken arm in Sunday's 3-2 victory over Aston Villa, where he scored twice including a last-gasp winner.
It was initially suggested by the club that Son would be sidelined for 'several weeks' but Mourinho, speaking ahead of the Champions League clash with RB Leipzig, gave a much more bleak outlook.
“The situation couldn’t be worse in terms of options. It’s a very, very obvious situation. There is nothing that you can do," he said.
"We are going to play with the players that we have available. The players are going to give everything, which is what they are doing. In some periods I was worried about not having attacking options on the bench, now it’s not having attacking options on the pitch.
”I’m not going to count on him again this season. If he plays two or three games then it’s because he (his press officer) is very optimistic, but I’m not counting on him.”
Tottenham currently sit fifth in the Premier League, two points in front of United ahead of the meeting between the two sides in North London next month.
