Igor Tudor has revealed an injury crisis the likes of which he’s “never seen in his career” as the interim Tottenham boss braces himself for Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Tudoroversaw his fourth defeat in four as Spurs boss on Tuesday as Atletico Madrid put them to the sword in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie to run out 5-2 winners.

Three consecutive defeats in the Premier League leaves them just one point above the relegation zone ahead of their trip to play Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

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Another loss will surely bring an end to Tudor’s brief and horrific tenure; it’s a surprise he’s still in the job given the Spurs players clearly haven’t responded to his tactics and – as Antonin Kinsky will advise– are some less than mediocre man-management skills.

The Croat admits he and the Spurs players face a “big challenge to change things” but says “you can cry or you can fight”. Probably cry then.

Tudor said: “It’s tough. For sure. Not just because of the last game but because of the period. Not easy situation, not easy moment. Big challenge to change things. Like everything in life, you can choose how to see the situation.

“You can cry or you can fight. You can be the victim or you can say I can change something and this is the message I want to start with and what I communicate with the players. Everyone speaks and everyone has opinions. The bottle is always half empty or half full. Here, there is nothing full, there are a lot of empty things but difficult moments don’t last.

“I believe the players will take this as a challenge, as an opportunity, to stand up with the courage to change things after this period.”

Plenty of courage will be required from the Spurs player who remain available for selection after Tudor revealed both Joao Palhinha and Cristian Romero are now out following their clash of heads in Madrid, along with the suspended Micky van de Ven, while Conor Gallagher is also a doubt through illness.

He added: “No, no. They [Romero and Palhinha] are out. Micky [van de Ven] is also out. [Yves] Bissouma is out with a muscle [injury]. Conor [Gallagher] has some fever, but probably will be in.

“We have a lot of problems to make first eleven. This is how it is at this club. It happens all the time. We start to build something and then something happens like a red card in the last game or three or four injuries.

“It is very rare, I have never had this situation in my career where you have two players missing every game. It is very unusual but you have to accept this and try and change the things we can change. These things we cannot.”

Tudor was on the receiving end of significant backlash following his decision to substitute Kinsky after just 17 minutes in the defeat to Atletico Madrid, and revealed the 22-year-old has responded well to the slight.

On whether he has any hesitation about playing Kinsky in future, Tudor added: “He will play for sure. He came back the day after and was very good and positive in training. Nothing else. This is probably the first and last time that this happened in my life and the life of a lot of people.

“It is the same message that I had before. You can go out and be the victim – everyone was sending messages of help and ‘I am with you’ and this is nice also.

“But, sometimes, in 2025 in this social media life – it is more important what you say than what you do. But, as I said before, this is a mistake, he will be for sure in his career – make other mistakes – but I think he has the strength and quality in front of him to have a very good career.”

Asked if Guglielmo Vicario will come back in against Liverpool, Tudor confirmed: “He is good. He will be in the goal.”

On concerns over the mental health of his players, he said: “We are trying to help them and we provide everything we can from the club. This is the job we are paid for. It is part of the job, to be under stress and choose what you want to do.

“It is not easy but, all good things are not easy. Messages in training are the same. When we do difficult things, that is the message. The right and the best things are not easy.”

All good things are not easy? Someone’s never sat on the sofa in their pants watching Netflix and eating biscuits. Bet he wishes he was on Sunday afternoon.

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