Tottenham's forward crisis deepened with the news that Steven Bergwijn's will not travel to Germany for Tuesday's clash with RB Leipzig after suffering an ankle injury in the dying minutes of Saturday's 1-1 draw at Burnley.
Already down to the bare bones up-front, Jose Mourinho has now been left with just three fit, senior attacking players – Dele Alli, Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura – for the Champions League last 16 second leg, with his side needing to score at least once to have any chance of reaching the quarter-final after losing 1-0 in London.
It is a grim state of affairs for Mourinho and even a manager with a sunnier outlook would struggle to find any positives amid such a catalogue of injuries.
Mourinho must try to use the situation to Tottenham's advantage, however, and if there is a plus to Bergwijn's blow, it may be an opportunity for Ryan Sessegnon.
The 19-year-old has travelled to Leipzig and could be a like-for-like replacement for the Dutchman on the left wing, particularly if Lamela is not fit enough to start consecutive games as he recovers from a long-term thigh complaint.
Sessegnon has been plagued by his own fitness problems since joining Spurs in the summer and he has not featured since February 5, in part due to a niggling hip complaint.
Normally cautious with young players, Mourinho may simply conclude that he has no option but to throw Sessegnon in against the Bundesliga side, and he does have form in Germany this season, having scored on his full Spurs debut at Bayern Munich in December in a timely reminder of his quality.
It has been easy to forget that Sessegnon was *the* next great hope of English football not so long ago, the shiniest of an emerging golden generation, and he is obviously a player waiting to fulfil massive potential.
Another injury before a big game is a major headache for Mourinho but it might just be the springboard to re-launch Sessegnon's stuttering career.
