Tottenham without injured Heung-min Son for Eintracht Frankfurt showdown | OneFootball

A huge blow for Spurs ahead of their do-or-die clash

Tottenham captain Heung-min Son will miss Thursday's Europa League quarter-final decider against Eintracht Frankfurt through injury in a major blow to the club's hopes of progressing to the last four.

Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou, whose side drew 1-1 with Frankfurt last week's first leg, says the absence of the South Korean is "another challenge" for his side to overcome during an injury-hit season.

"Sonny didn’t travel in the end," Postecoglou said. "He’s the only one who misses out.

"He has been battling with this foot problem for a few weeks now and he’s managed through it, but it’s got too painful over the last few days.

"He tried to train yesterday and just wasn’t right, so we’ve made the decision to leave him at home to allow him to recuperate to see the best way to recovery for him."

In the first leg in north London, Son equalled Harry Kane's record of 67 European appearances for Spurs and the absence of such an experienced player for a season-defining game has left Postecoglou frustrated.

"It’s a blow but it’s consistent with everything else that’s happened this year, so it’s just another challenge for us to overcome," the Australian added.

"Unfortunate for him and he tried really hard. The reason we left him out at weekend was to give him time to recover because he’s been struggling with this foot thing for a couple of weeks now, but he couldn’t make it. You know, we’ve had these challenges all year and it’s just another we need to overcome."

Dejan Kulusevski is available to start for the first time since February after playing the final 15 minutes at Molineux, while centre-back Kevin Danso is back in the squad following a hamstring injury.

"Everyone else is good," Postecoglou said. "I guess the only notable addition is Kevin, who trained and is available as well, so really it’s only Sonny that misses out.

"It’s massively positive because you realise when we’ve got everyone together, we’ve got a really exciting young squad that I think we can build on.

"Irrespective of how the game goes, we have got opportunities to make impacts with substitutions. And just the general feeling around the place...everyone's excited, all the players are looking forward to it.

"Just having the whole group together; the dynamics of training, the dynamics of the dressing room, even the dynamics when you travel. For the most part, everyone's got their best buddy with them. They're not back at home. It's a good feeling and you miss it when you've had the kind of season we've had."