ANGE POSTECOGLOU has a point — Tottenham’s injuries have hit them more than any Prem club.

And Spurs’ crisis is statistically 25 per cent worse than any top-flight side competing in Europe this season.

Reuters

Ange Postecoglou has had a lot of injuries to deal with this season[/caption]

Getty

Tottenham have had more than any other side in the Premier League[/caption]

Getty

Dominic Solanke was one player to be sidelined recently[/caption]

In total, they have had 213 absentees across their 39 fixtures, which is a whopping 44 more than the next most badly hit — North London rivals Arsenal.

Those numbers back up Aussie boss Postecoglou, who claimed after Sunday’s 2-1 FA Cup defeat at Aston Villa that critics are not factoring in the crippling effect of injuries when blaming him for  Spurs’  poor form.

Under-fire Postecoglou was without ELEVEN crocked first-team stars for the fourth-round tie at Villa Park.

Remarkably, that was the FIFTH game this season the absentee list due to injury or illness has hit double figures.

All of those have come since mid-January and largely ruled out crucial men, including keeper Guglielmo Vicario, defenders Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie, as well as forwards Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke.

Spurs have not had one game this term without a player missing through injury or illness but the crisis took hold in the last two months.

Since the December 12 Europa League tie at Rangers, Spurs have not had a single fixture without fewer than SIX players out.

They have plummeted to 14th in the Prem and are now out of both domestic cups, with the Villa defeat coming after last week’s Carabao Cup semi-final exit to Liverpool.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

Postecoglou snapped at Villa Park: “There’s got to be a better appreciation for what a very small group of players have been doing for the last 2½ months.”

And he claimed the criticism was “agenda-driven” to get him the sack.

Postecoglou said no other club has had to deal with the same amount of injuries  — and the stats support him.

Of English sides competing in Europe this term, Spurs have had 213 absentees through illness and injury.

In comparison, Arsenal have 169, Manchester City 158, Manchester United 157, Liverpool 100, Aston Villa 97 and Chelsea just 79.

It is not just the quantity of absentees but the individuals missing, too.

Back-up full-backs Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney account for 55 of the Arsenal total of 169 — more than 30 per cent. Yet first-choice centre-backs Van de Ven and Romero amount to 52 of Spurs’ 213.

Frustrated fans point to the fact that both Romero and Van de Ven started in league defeats to  Arsenal, Brighton, Chelsea and Crystal Palace.

While many also suspect Postecoglou’s intense training methods contribute to the high volume of muscle injuries, which also happened at his previous clubs.

But sessions are understood to have been extremely light over the last few months due to the relentless schedule.

The ex-Celtic boss said last week: “I know people look at our training, but I guarantee you we’ve hardly trained for the past four months.

“We’re looking at our processes but the wiser thing to do is stay calm, investigate it properly and make sure we make the right decisions.”

Crucially, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has factored in the injury crisis when analysing the alarming form.

There does appear to be light at the end of the tunnel with some players very close to a return.

Then the pressure will truly be on Postecoglou with no injury excuses, legitimate as they are, to fall back on.

After all, it was he who unnecessarily upped the ante by declaring in September he “always wins things” in his second year” in a job.

To do that he will have to go all the way in the Europa League, which represents Spurs’ last shot at salvation.

Elon Musk and a group of investors have submitted a bid to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI.

They're resisting a shopping spree.

'I could actually be sick!'

Arsenal are back in action away to Leicester on Saturday.

Rangers are battling to round up a large group of feral pigs thought to have been deliberately released in a national park.

Around 20 of the boar have been spotted in woodlands in Cairngorms National Park in Scotland recently.

A local farmers’ group said it was ‘extremely concerned’ the animals ‘could pose a significant disease risk to livestock, wildlife, and even humans’.

It warned they could spread diseases such as bovine tuberculosis, foot-and-mouth disease and leptospirosis.

‘Wild boar and feral pigs are not usually aggressive [but] they can be dangerous in certain situations.’

It comes weeks after four lynx were illegally released in the park last month, one of which died not long after they were recaptured.

The Cairngorms National Park Authority said it is ‘likely’ the pigs were also illegally released.

The animals ‘appear to be relatively domesticated’, the authority added.

Wild boar were once widespread in Scotland but became extinct in the 13th century due to overhunting and human destruction of their habitat.

In recent years their descendants have occassionally been spotted in the countryside after escaping or being deliberately released from captivity.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Season 5 of Big Brother Mzansi continues to be unpredictable as Ash-Ley Ogle has been evicted from the Umlilo house.

A BURGLAR who once raided footie boss Jose Mourinho’s hotel suite is in jail again for two more high-value break-ins.

Jamie Filan, 44, stole £100,000 of jewellery from the ex-Chelsea, Man Utd and Tottenham manager’s wife, Matilde, in 2013.

AFP - Getty

And on January 31 last year, he swiped earrings and a necklace worth £6,500 at a London hotel.

Days later he took watches worth £30,000 from the Chelsea-owned Stamford Bridge Hotel.

At Southwark crown court last week, Filan admitted two burglaries and was jailed for two years and five months.

Filan was jailed for two years and seven months for stealing from the then Real Madrid manager’s room at a Chelsea hotel.

It was one of a lengthy list of convictions read to Judge Martin Griffith, who told him: “I’ve never seen a list like this.

“It’s amazing.

“You have an appalling record, which is evident by the number of appearances you have made before court.

“You are not very good at this because you get caught every time.”

Jailing the crook for two years and five months, he added: “If I see you again, boy will I be mad”.

Getty

A burglar who once raided footie boss Jose Mourinho’s hotel suite is in jail again for two more high-value break-ins[/caption]

A DECORATED military intelligence chief was yesterday sacked for groping a female officer.

Lt Col Benedict Stephens, 44, assaulted the rookie NCO during a boozy staff night out.

Alamy

Lt Col Benedict Stephens — honoured by the late Queen for his bravery in Afghanistan — has been sacked for groping a female officer[/caption]

Stephens, honoured for bravery in Afghanistan, had been off duty in Dubai in April last year.

After molesting the woman, he asked: “Are you intimidated by me?”

He had denied sexual assault but was found guilty last month.

Yesterday at the court in Catterick, North Yorks, he was given a 20-week jail term, suspended for two years.

Judge Advocate Edward Legard said: “What you did that evening was unconscionable.

“You were a decorated senior officer taking opportunistic advantage of a young female many ranks your subordinate and one who had every right to feel safe and secure in a senior officer’s presence.

“The impact on her cannot be overstated.

“Such was the shock of what you did to her that she became hysterical and was hyperventilating.

“Subsequent to this she has endured feelings of guilt and embarrassment and she fears being painted as the villain as opposed to the victim.”

He was dismissed.

Stephens received the Queen’s Gallantry Medal in 2011 for trying to save comrades from a sinking vehicle in Helmand.

LOVE Island fans have been left stunned as a couple have been brutally axed from the All Stars villa.

Tonight’s episode saw host Maya Jama wear her sexiest outfit yet as she delivered the results to the islanders.

ITV

ITV

Tina and Chuggs have been dumped from the island[/caption]

ITV

Ekin-Su and Curtis narrowly kept their place in the villa[/caption]

Ekin-Su and Curtis, Harriett and Ronnie and Chuggs and Tina were all up for the chop.

Arriving into the villa, host Maya gathered the cast at the firepit for the result.

She then announced Tina and Chuggs had been dumped immediately from the villa.

The pair said goodbye to their fella islanders before leaving the villa and joining Maya, 30, for an exit chat.

Reacting to the news, one Love Island fan said: “TBH, chuggs didn’t belong here. And Tina got played. So it’s long for them.”

A second wrote: “This season has been so predictable, everyone knew Tina & chuggs were always going to be dumped.”

“Ekin su, please stop the drama you know you are not leaving,” said a third.

While a fourth commented: “Interesting the way Tina only friendzoned Chuggs as soon as they walked out of the villa lol.”