Son expected to return after international break as Mourinho warns national team managers

Jose Mourinho has implored national team managers to heed Tottenham’s packed schedule and protect his players during next week’s international break, after which he expects Son Heung-min to return to fitness.

Son suffered a hamstring injury in Spurs’ controversial 1-1 draw with Newcastle United on Sunday, forcing his withdrawal at half-time as Mourinho’s side were ultimately undone by a penalty awarded thanks to a contentious late handball call.

The controversy relating to the spot-kick overshadowed Son’s injury, but at the time Mourinho did confirm he expected the forward to be out for a few weeks.

Spurs were in action again on Tuesday, a little more than 48 hours after the Newcastle match, as they fought to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea and eventually progressed to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup in a penalty shoot-out.

But that is just the tip of the iceberg – they still have two more matches to play before the international break begins at the start of next week, with Maccabi Haifa visiting in the Europa League on Thursday and a trip to Manchester United following that on Sunday to end a run of five games in 11 days.

The match-winning moment #THFC   #COYS pic.twitter.com/K9djME1Xaz

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 30, 2020

As such, Mourinho is urging national team bosses to use his players sparingly.

“I expect to have [Son] back after the international period,” Mourinho began. “And this gives me the opportunity to speak about it [the international break].

“I hope the national team coaches have their data and they realise how many minutes Tottenham players have played this week.

“I hope they care about the players and they protect them because Tottenham players this week they have an incredible amount of minutes and work and it’s very, very dangerous.

“What I did today with Eric Dier [playing him two days after his previous game] is very, very dangerous.”