Tottenham injuries have been blessings in disguise

Tottenham are benefitting from injuries to Harry Kane and Moussa Dembele

Before the year began, the idea of Harry Kane and Moussa Dembele missing significant time due to injury would have sent most Tottenham fans into a mild panic attack. Instead of proving to be disastrous, the injuries to both Spurs stars have proven to be of great benefit to the club.

That certainly doesn’t mean I’m hoping either man misses significantly more time this year, but their injuries will benefit Tottenham in the long haul. Their absence in the squad has allowed other stars to step up in their place.

For Dembele, it’s obvious that new signing Victor Wanyama has stepped into his role on the pitch. The Kenyan destroyer doesn’t have the Belgian man’s skill going forward, but he’s at least as good on the defensive end of the pitch.

His ability to break up play and intimidate the opposition with his physical presence has been a huge lift for Mauricio Pochettino’s side. There’s at least an argument to be made that Wanyama deserves to keep his place in the starting XI over all of his defensive midfield competition.

On the offensive end of the field, Son Heung-Min has allowed Tottenham fans to cope with Kane’s absence. Pochettino doesn’t always employ him as a striker, but the point is his offensive contribution has allowed the club to thrive without their English talisman.

Son’s current run of form equals any stretch Kane has put forth over the last two seasons. That’s quite a compliment for the Korean attacker. Look for Pochettino to deploy both men together in a variety of ways once Kane returns to full fitness.

The benefit of Dembele and Kane’s injuries aren’t just down to the ascendancy of other players though. Their knocks have forced each star to get significant rest. It’s doubtful that Pochettino would have felt comfortable leaving either man on the bench very often if they were healthy. His hand was forced when each went down due to injury.