Ange Postecoglou confirms defender suffered a ‘nasty’ knock before dropping surprise boost ahead Palace

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed defender Ben Davies only missed the game against Fulham because he suffered a ‘nasty’ knock in training.

The experienced defender has fallen out of favour with the emergence of Destiny Udogie who has made the left back position his own in a fluid system that has seen them rise to the summit of the Premier League. The Lilywhites have a chance to go five points clear on Friday evening if they can get all three points against Crystal Palace.

Spurs will need depth if they are to fight for the league title or at least keep up the challenge and the manager Postecoglou admitted he was looking to having every memeber of his team fit including Ben Davies who has remained a loyal servant of the club even in good and and in bad times.

He told reporters ahead of the game against Crystal Palace tonight: “Yeah he is fine. He got a knock the day before training. It is fair to say our training at times teeters on the edge and unfortunately he copped a nasty one in training. Just a knock but it was the day before the game so it kept him out. He has training and is fine and ready to go.”

The Spurs boss however admitted midfielder Pape Matar Sarr has fully recovered and should play a part while Destiny Udogie was still touch and go.

Postecoglou added: “The two main ones from the other night are Pape and Destiny. Pape is fine, he bounced back sort of 24 hours after the game. He had a bit of an illness but has trained well. Destiny we are still going to assess. Obviously it is a short turnaround from the other night. We’ll have a look today, see how things go and make a decision after that. Everyone else has come through fine and is available.”