Tottenham dealt blow as key defender picks up ACL injury ahead of Carabao Cup semi-final clash against Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a blow as defender Radu Drăgușin has been sidelined with an injury ahead of their semi-final clash against Liverpool. The two sides will face off in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Thursday, February 6, at Anfield.

Drăgușin came off the bench during Tottenham's last UEFA Europa League clash against IF Elfsborg on January 30. He replaced Micky van de Ven at the beginning of the second half. However, the Romanian star could not continue and had to be subbed off by Dane Scarlett in the 66th minute. The match ended in a 3-0 win for the Premier League side.

Now, Tottenham has issued an official statement confirming that Radu Drăgușin has sustained an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee and will have to undergo surgery. The statement read (via the club's official website):

"We can confirm that Radu Dragusin will undergo surgery for an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury to his right knee. The 23-year-old defender suffered the injury during our UEFA Europa League victory against Elfsborg last Thursday. Radu will be assessed by our medical team to determine when he can return to training."

Drăgușin's injury comes at a bad time for Spurs, who are having an injury-riddled season. They are already missing Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie in defense due to their respective injuries.

The 23-year-old will be out of action for the rest of the ongoing season. He has started in 25 out of the 28 appearances for Tottenham this campaign while contributing to eight clean sheets.

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Tottenham boss provided updates on injured players expected to return in February

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has provided updates on the injured players in his squad, who are expected to be back in action this month. Spurs currently have nine players out with injuries. On January 31, the 59-year-old manager told reporters (via Liverpool.com):

"They are all kind of around the same time — around 10 days' time. We are talking about [Guglielmo] Vicario, [Brennan] Johnson, Destiny [Udogie], Wilson [Odobert], Timo [Werner]. [James Maddison] is around the same time as well. Romero is a bit of a tricky one."

"We are not really sure yet. There is still some work he needs to do. Certainly all those guys, I think of the long-term ones apart from Dom (Solanke) who is probably a week behind them, the rest of them are slated to be back in the next week to 10 days to be available," added Postecoglou.

Tottenham have two important matches upcoming in different competitions this week and will hope to have as many players back in action as possible. Ange Postecoglou's squad will play against Liverpool in the second leg of the semi-final of the Carabao Cup this Thursday. Spurs have a one-goal lead on aggregate against the Reds.

Spurs are then set to face Aston Villa in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, February 9, at Villa Park.