Published: 14:52, February 19, 2020 | Updated: 07:41, June 6, 2023
Mourinho expects to be without Son for the season
By Xinhua

Tottenham Hotspur's Portuguese head coach Jose Mourinho takes a team training session at Tottenham Hotspur's Enfield Training Centre, in north London on Feb 18, 2020, ahead of their UEFA Champions League Last 16 First Leg football match against RB Leipzig. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

LONDON - Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday that he fears the club will be without South Korean striker Son Heung-min for the rest of the season.

Son fractured his right arm in Tottenham's dramatic 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Sunday in a game in which he showed his importance to the side with two goals, including an injury time winner.

I'm not going to count on him again this season. If he plays two or three games then it's because he is very optimistic, but I'm not counting on him

Jose Mourinho, Coach, Tottenham

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The Tottenham website confirmed he "is expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks," but Mourinho presented a more pessimistic outlook, implying the forward will not return to action before the end of the campaign.The striker has scored nine times in the Premier League and five times in Europe this season, but now needs an operation.

"I'm not going to count on him again this season. If he plays two or three games then it's because he is very optimistic, but I'm not counting on him," he said.

Tottenham are already without Harry Kane until April with a badly torn hamstring and Son's injury leaves Mourinho with just Lucas Moura or Ireland Under-21 forward Troy Parrott as options up front.

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"We are going to miss him... We miss him. The situation couldn't be worse. That is obvious. There is nothing we can do."

"We are going to play with the players we have available. I was worried about not having attacking options on the bench - now I don't have attacking options on the pitch," said Mourinho.  

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean striker Son Heung-Min holds his arm as he lies injured on the pitch during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on Feb 16, 2020. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)