Ange Postecoglou has stood by his decision to take Son Heung-min off before the hour mark against Aston Villa. The South Korean forward has missed the last three games with a thigh issue, but returned to the XI for the home Premier League clash this afternoon.
And with his side trailing 1-0 at the break due to Morgan Rogers' first-half goal, the club captain showed fans exactly what they had been missing early in the second half.
Son delivered a sublime ball in from the left, picking out Brennan Johnson who levelled matters from close range.
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But to the shock of both the crowd and the player himself, with the game finely poised at 1-1 Postecoglou opted to take his key man off. Richarlison duly replaced him, with the manager later vindicated as Dominic Solanke scored twice before James Maddison's free kick completed a 4-1 win.
But that was after Son was seen shaking his head in frustration after taking his seat on the bench. However, the Australian boss later insisted it was a precautionary measure, and one he had already decided to make pre kick-off.
"He was never going to play more than 55 minutes," he told Sky Sports. "Last time he came back from injury he got to the 60 minute mark and got injured again. He got through unscathed."
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However, despite Son coming through unscathed, Postecoglou was left to reflect on another two injury blows. Cristian Romero was forced to leave the field moments after his skipper, and then Son's replacement Richarlison found himself coming back off himself.
The Brazilian played a pivotal role in Solanke's second goal, squaring a pass for the striker to tap home. But in doing so, he appeared to pull his left hamstring and duly limped off.
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