Dele Alli came off the bench to great impact in Tottenham Hotspur’s FA Cup clash with Southampton.
Mourinho had a meeting with Alli and a fitness coach yesterday morning, at which point it was unclear whether Alli would feature.
The Spurs midfielder picked up a knock against Manchester City at the weekend, which he hadn’t entirely shaken off.
But Mourinho decided to gamble by naming Alli on the bench, and the Portuguese boss will be so thankful he did now.
Tottenham beat Southampton 3-2 last night, and Alli played a starring role after being introduced.
Spurs were off colour for much of the match, but the England international turned the game on its head after he came on.
Alli first set up Lucas Moura, before he released Heung-Min Son to win a penalty in the final stages.
And Mourinho was very pleased with the impact Alli made, alongside fellow substitute Gedson Fernandes.
“I met him this morning with the fitness coach and medical department at 11am. At that moment we didn’t know if he could play,” Mourinho said.
“We measured the risks and the capacity to cope with pain and we decided to bring him.
“He was happy to come because he knew we were in big trouble. We knew Lamela and Lo Celso had no chance to be here with muscular injuries and Bergwijn had no chance with the rules of the competition.
“So Dele made that effort to come on at this moment and connect with Son and the kid Gedson came with energy and fresh legs and I thought he could make a difference for us too.”
Tottenham’s reward for beating Southampton is a match against Norwich City in the fifth round.
Spurs have a weekend off coming up, and Mourinho will hope to recover some his injured players over the break.
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