North London Derby: Postecoglou Bemoans Ivan Perisic Injury

Tottenham Hotspur’s manager Ange Postecoglou has discussed his disappointment with the absence of veteran winger Ivan Perisic when they face off against Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday.

Recall that the Croatian international suffered a complex anterior cruciate ligament injury earlier this week, and he is expected to see him sidelined for the rest of the campaign.

Certainly, this is a major setback for Spurs’ season, after enjoying the brightest start to the Premier League for the first time in the past 57 years.

Spurs are currently unbeaten in the PL so far, having garnered a whopping 13 points from 5 games, and they’ll face rival Arsenal that is currently tied with them on the same points.

“Obviously, it’s disappointing and it’s a massive blow to him,” Postecoglou said on Perisic’s injury.

“He has been one of the guys since I have come in that you realize why they have had such a fantastic career and why they have had the longevity in terms of his ability to perform at the highest level and for the biggest clubs. It’s just an unfortunate thing; one of those things, a freak thing in training.

“It’s disappointing for him, disappointing for us because he has had a really strong start to the season. He gives us that experience which we don’t have a lot of and you see that in the big games, the big moments – he’s been involved in pretty much all of them. So it’s disappointing for us as well.

“He’s a strong-willed individual. You don’t have a career like Ivan’s had without being able to deal with this. I’m sure in the course of time he will build himself up and be ready to play football again. I have no doubt he is going to play well into his late 30s because of the way he looks after himself.”

It’s been 13 years since Spurs last won a league game at the Emirates, and with both teams on par so far this season, it remains to be seen if the narrative will change on Sunday.