Tottenham: Ange Postecoglou hints at 'creative' solution to injury crisis ahead of Europa League final | OneFootball

Spurs will be without Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison in Bilbao

Kulusesvki is set to be sidelined for "a few months" after undergoing surgery on his knee cap this week, while Bergvall (ankle) and Maddison (knee) will both miss the final with ligament damage.

"We've always had to try to find creative ways to cover the absences we've had and we'll find a way to do that again," Postecoglou said ahead of the rearranged visit to Villa Park.

Dejan Kulusevski will miss the Europa League final after undergoing knee surgery

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"I doubt you'd do a serious departure from what we have been doing in terms of our overall structure but at the same time you have to find solutions within the context of what we have available to give us the best chance of success.

"We've got to get through the [Villa] game tomorrow night to see what the wash-up from that is. We can try a couple of things tomorrow night to see how they work and we've got to make our decisions from there."

Postecoglou played down the chances of a "radical" new approach against United, which would appear to rule out a switch to a back-three to free up full-backs Porro and Destiny Udogie, but opened the door to "positional change" for a player.

Wingers Son, who Postecoglou said would definitely feature for a half against Villa, or Odobert are candidates to play centrally but Postecoglou did not shoot down the suggestion from a reporter that Porro or Solanke could be set for a new role.

"There could be a performance tomorrow night that convinces me to go one way or another," he replied.

"You consider it all. At the same time, even if you do something radical, whether it’s a positional change, it’s always better done in the confines of having a real solid foundation there.

"Foundationally, we’re not going to change anything there in terms of the way we play, the way we set up for the most part.

"If you do that, if it’s one positional change for a player then it still has a possibility of working."

In picking a team to face Villa, Postecoglou faces a difficult balancing act, with some players in need of minutes ahead of Bilbao but the head coach saying on Monday that he would wrap his stars up in "cotton wool" to avoid more injuries.

Ange Postecoglou is not expected to take any risks with his key stars

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And the Australian suggested that the state of his squad was too "finely balanced" following the loss of Kulusevski to take risks against the Villains, suggesting he would name another weakened XI for Spurs' penultimate league game of the campaign.

“Look, in a normal world you use this to sharpen up but we’re not living in a normal world," Postecoglou said.

"That’s the reality of our existence at the moment where we can’t lose another player to an injury. It’s just too finely balanced for us considering what’s at stake.

“Villa are obviously going for Champions League football and you see how important it is to them and we’re doing the same."

A rotated Spurs XI may raise questions questions about the integrity of the Premier League given that Villa are locked in a six-way battle for four spots in next season's Champions League.

Unai Emery's side face United on the final day, four days after the showpiece.

"When you put a line-up out there you are trying to win a game of football but at the same time every club has got its own interests and you have to prioritise what's important for your club," Postecoglou said.

"Champions League is very important for all those clubs fighting for it at the moment, I can see how important it is and every game and every decision is crucial but we are in exactly the same boat.

"We have got Champions League qualification plus a trophy to win.

"It would be negligent of me if I wasn't doing the best thing for our football club to make sure we achieve."