Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that his substitution of Son Heung-min last night was a precautionary measure.
Spurs put one foot in the last 16 of the Europa League by beating Wolfsberger 4-1 in Hungary.
Son opened the scoring but Mourinho worried some Tottenham fans when he took him at the break, when the Premier League side were leading 3-0.
But the Lilywhites coach has revealed that it wasn’t related to injury, suggesting that it was the pre-match plan to give the South Korean star a rest as soon as the game was safe.
He said: “Today I just ask him to do his job and his job was to help us a little bit. I believe 3-0, scoring his goal which for him was a special goal. Job done, goodbye, I let Vinicius play.”
Son, a £22 million signing in 2015, has been an unbelievable asset for Tottenham this season and Mourinho needs to protect him.
He had ran over 20km in his past two games prior to last night and there is always a risk of burn out with players like the former Bayer Leverkusen attacker.
Spurs go to West Ham United on Sunday morning and Mourinho needs his best players fit between now and the end of the season.
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