Jose Mourinho has revealed that Joe Rodon hasn’t be added to Spurs’ Europa League squad for the knockout stages of the competition.
Rodon missed all six of the group stages due to being signed after the Europa League squad registration deadline, and has been restricted to just nine appearances following his Deadline Day move from Swansea City back in October.
The Welsh defender is also cup-tied in the Carabao Cup, meaning he won’t be able to play against Manchester City in April’s final, although he’s available for the FA Cup and has started the last three in the Premier League.
However, Mourinho confirmed that Rodon hasn’t been added to the squad for the knockout stages because he wants to “show respect” for the players that featured in the group stage.
“We didn’t. A hard decision but we wanted to show respect for the group. Wanted to show respect for the group. Very hard for the group to cope with one of the players involved to be out.
“We kept Tanganga in spite of good possibilities the kid had to go out on loan because then Tanganga, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Dier. We have to do it without Rodon.” (Quotes via Football.London).
This will be very frustrating news for Rodon, whose just started to showcase his talent in recent weeks, although with four other centre-backs available in the squad, Mourinho should generally be well covered for the knockouts.
