Tottenham Hotspur have been rocked by the news that both Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli will miss Saturday lunchtime's crunch clash with Premier League leaders Liverpool, who are bidding for a fifth win on the bounce when they take on a depleted Spurs side at Wembley.
Lloris, who has endured a difficult few weeks on a personal level after being fined £50,000 and receiving a 20-month driving ban following his pleading guilty to drink-driving, misses this weekend's game with a hamstring injury, while Alli suffered a knock during England's 2-1 defeat to Spain last weekend and misses out.
Lloris is missing for the second game running and Michel Vorm appears likely to deputise. The Dutch keeper has been an able enough deputy for Lloris in the past and he has kept 17 clean sheets in 44 appearances for Spurs, conceding 42 goals, albeit he doesn't offer the same assured presence as the French No. 1.
Vorm, 34, certainly isn't short of experience as he made 97 Premier League appearances for Swansea before moving to North London in 2014 and he has played against Liverpool on nine occasions during his career. The Dutchman has only been on the winning side in one of those clashes with the Reds, drawing five and losing two, whilst keeping just two clean sheets and conceding 14 goals.
The loss of Alli is also a huge blow for Tottenham as he had been an influential presence, although the return of Heung-min Son from international is a timely boost and the South Korean could come straight back into the starting line-up.
Son has endured a busy summer as he played for South Korea at the World Cup and then helped them to win the gold medal at the Asian Games, a tournament victory that ensured the 26-year-old would be exempt from military service.
Tiredness could be an issue for Son, who played eight games in 26 days for his country, but his return after playing just ten minutes of Tottenham's league season so far will be greatly received by Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.
Son scored 18 goals in 53 games in all competitions for Tottenham last season and he was on target when the London side thrashed Liverpool 4-1 at Wembley last October. Son played a more advanced role that day and Pochettino might be tempted to thrust him into the action this weekend in the hope of a repeat scenario.
