Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou offers Lucas Bergvall update after AZ Alkmaar injury scare

Ange Postecoglou has allayed injury fears over Lucas Bergvall after the Tottenham midfielder was forced off against AZ Alkmaar.

The Swedish international started for Spurs in the Europa League on Thursday night, delivering a tidy performance that included earning the match-winning penalty early in the second half after being fouled by Maxim Dekker.

However, Bergvall could not complete a full 90 minutes against the Dutch side, going down appearing to clutch the back of his right leg without around 20 minutes to play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Though the 18-year-old got up after brief treatment and looked as if he would play through the issue, he was replaced a couple of minutes later by compatriot Dejan Kulusevski.

That provoked further injury fears over a player who was also forced to withdraw from the Sweden squad last week with a knock before remaining an unused substitute in the 4-1 drubbing of London rivals West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.

However, it appears that Bergvall was merely suffering from cramp - similarly to match-winner Richarlison, who was replaced by Dominic Solanke with less than 10 minutes to play on his first start since August following a calf injury.

“He's alright, he's just cramping up,” Postecoglou said of Bergvall in his post-match press conference. “Again, he hasn't played a lot.

“I thought both him and Archie [Gray] worked awfully hard tonight and, like I said, they're 18 and so for us it's pretty exciting that they're making an impact at the moment and knowing that there is so much more of them to come.

“I think these European games are a great foundation for them. It's a different challenge and I think you see growth in them every time they go out there. Apart from tiredness, he's okay.”

Tottenham were without Heung-min Son against AZ Alkmaar after the captain experienced soreness following his return from a hamstring injury against West Ham, though Postecoglou insisted before Thursday night’s game that his captain would not have played anyway.

Full-back Djed Spence has also been dealing with a knock of late, though also would not have featured on Thursday given that he is not in Spurs’ Europa League squad.