Steven Bergwijn was missing Tuesday against Southampton (1-1) due to a calf injury, his manager Antonio Conte clarifies. The absence of the Tottenham Hotspur wing striker in the match selection led to speculation on Tuesday afternoon, but it appears to have a logical explanation.
Bergwijn suffered from his calf two days ago against Crystal Palace (3-0 victory). The the Dutch international then came in for Harry Kane in the 64th minute and was able to finish the game, but was therefore not fit for the meeting with Southampton. Bergwijn also has to miss the away game against Watford on New Year’s Day, Conte announces. That also applies to Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero and Ryan Sessegnon.
According to The Telegraph Ajax is still keeping a close eye on Bergwijn’s situation. The Amsterdammers want to rent the left winger for the rest of the season and have also officially reported to the Spurs. For now, however, it seems that Conte is not cooperating with a temporary departure of the attacker, who recently received praise from the Italian. “He’s improving every day,” said Conte. “He shows me that he can be a good option.”
Tottenham played more than a half against ten men on Tuesday, but still failed to put Southampton aside. Conte was therefore disappointed with the result. “It is a missed opportunity,” said the coach, who finds his team in sixth place in the Premier League with two games less played. “You have to take advantage of a situation like this and we know that. We were tired in the second half and we didn’t make the best decisions.”
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