Tottenham Hotspur defender could be about to get his first ever start as injury crisis deepens - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur are in dire straits at present as their injury issues continue to mount.

Spurs lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, leaving them a lowly 11th in the Premier League table.

In addition, Tottenham are now without all four of their senior centre-backs after Radu Dragusin was forced off against Forest.

Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero remain on the sidelines, while Ben Davies has suffered a setback and will be out for some more weeks.

As a result, Ange Postecoglou could now find himself handing a Tottenham academy defender his first ever start in the senior setup.

READ MORE: What Son Heung-min was ‘shouting’ at Alfie Dorrington just before his Tottenham debut vs Southampton

Alfie Dorrington could make full Tottenham debut against Wolves

The player in question is Alfie Dorrington, who made his Spurs debut in the 5-0 win over Southampton earlier in December.

The 19-year-old has been going from strength to strength in the Tottenham academy and is now in and around the first-team picture.

Prior to his debut against Southampton, Dorrington had made the matchday squad in three Europa League games and a Carabao Cup match.

And after his debut, Dorrington was among the subs against Liverpool, which shows that he’s rated highly by Postecoglou.

With Tottenham’s centre-back ranks now completely depleted, Dorrington could well make his full debut for Spurs against Wolves on Sunday.

What Tottenham fans could expect from Dorrington

Last year, Alasdair Gold described Dorrington as “terrific” and said he was “pushing his claims” for more first-team involvement.

Meanwhile, Superhotspur wrote a detailed scouting report about Dorrington in 2022.

“Alfie Dorrington is a good passer of a football,” they wrote. “And he is very capable of making long and accurate cross field diagonal passes.

“A strong defender, Alfie is a brave central defender who keeps good defensive positioning on the pitch.

“He is very good at making blocks and is also strong and decisive in the challenge.

“A passionate player on the pitch, Dorrington makes it difficult for forwards to get good chances on goal, as he is clever in his defending.”