Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has revealed Pape Sarr came off with a back problem against Aston Villa. With the score still 0-0 early in the second half, the Senegalese midfielder headed straight down the tunnel with a member of the medical staff.

Postecoglou is already without key players Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison for the Europa League final with Manchester United in Bilbao next Wednesday. However, the Australian manager still opted to start players like Sarr, Son Heung-min and Mathys Tel at Villa Park. The hosts eventually ran out 2-0 winners, but it was the condition of Sarr, not the result, that could prove pivotal to Tottenham's hopes in Spain.

"Pape felt something in his back," he admitted afterwards. "We don't think it's anything significant, having spoken to him, but we'll see."

Teenager Mikey Moore also appeared in discomfort as he was replaced before the final by Brennan Johnson, although his manager downplayed any injury fears, saying: "I think Mikey was okay. It was fatigue as much as anything else. He hasn’t played that sort of amount of minutes before."

Despite fielding a much changed line-up, Spurs frustrated Villa for almost an hour before John McGinn's corner was headed down by Ollie Watkins into the path of Ezri Konsa, who slotted in. Boubacar Kamara made sure of the points with a drilled shot past Antonin Kinsky, condemning the visitors to a 21st league defeat of the season.

It followed the tame 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday, but Postecoglou still praised his side for being resolute, adding: "I thought up until they scored the boys had worked hard, they were really disciplined and organised.

"We had our moments as well, going the other way, but once they scored we lost a little bit of belief. We got a little bit fatigued. A lot of those guys haven't played a lot and we looked like we were fatiguing and then the game just got away from us."

Both sides made a raft of changes before the final whistle as the contest petered out. Tottenham's season and Postecoglou's future now seemingly hinge on Wednesday's final, which could bring Champions League qualification despite the club's worst-ever Premier League campaign.