James Maddison's early exit through injury in Tottenham's 4-1 defeat against Chelsea could potentially leave Ange Postecoglou with a decision to make in midfield going into Saturday's clash at Wolves. Going down in the Chelsea area under no contact just prior to half-time, the England international made way at the same time as Micky van de Van after the defender appeared to pull up with a hamstring injury.

Postecoglou admitted in his post-match press conference that the Dutchman's injury could be "a pretty significant one" as he looked to be in some pain after his run back to goal came to an abrupt stop. On the other hand, the 58-year-old mentioned in an interview with the BBC that Maddison sustained a "knock on the ankle" and "it made sense to make a couple of changes at that point" with Tottenham already one man down.

Sounding more like the ex-Leicester City man was taken off as precautionary measure, all will be hoping that both Maddison and Van de Ven's injuries are not anything too serious and that they can be back on the pitch sooner rather than later. If indeed Maddison is out of Saturday's trip to Molineux, Postecoglou will need to decide on the man to take the 26-year-old's position in the side.

Whereas the numbers in defence are extremely few and far between at present due to the injuries and suspensions to come from the Chelsea defeat, the same cannot be said about the middle of the park as Postecoglou has a decent amount of players to choose from. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg certainly deserves a start after his outstanding showing against Chelsea but the fact he is not as attack-minded as some of the other midfield candidates could work against him.

The game in the West Midlands could possibly see Rodrigo Bentancur make his first start since returning from the ACL injury he picked up at Leicester City in February if the head coach believes he is in a position to play from the off. Getting the final few minutes of the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace before getting a further 40 minutes or so in the tank against Chelsea following his introduction on the hour mark plus all the stoppage time that followed, the Uruguayan is certainly working his way back to full fitness.

Quite whether he is in a position to start yet remains to be seen, though. One thing Tottenham cannot afford to do is push him too much so soon after his return as that could possibly work against them if he is to pick up a further issue and find himself back on the sidelines for a spell.

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If fit and in a position to start, Bentancur has the attributes to play in a more attack-minded midfield role after contributing with five goals and two assists in 18 appearances last term before injury struck. A start for Bentancur would be incredibly harsh on Giovani Lo Celso, who is the player perhaps most suited to taking on Maddison's role in Postecoglou's eye-catching Tottenham team.

Excelling for the club in pre-season and standing out as one of the team's best players following his return from his 18-month loan spell with Villarreal, it just hasn't quite happened for the Argentina international in the 2023/24 campaign. Maddison's excellent form has unfortunately resulted in Lo Celso playing an extremely bit-part role from the substitutes' bench and only getting 24 minutes of game time in the league so far.

The player did play the first half of the Carabao Cup defeat against Fulham and was one of the team's more impressive players but injury forced him off at the break and to miss the resulting four games. Always looking like Lo Celso would be the man to come in if Maddison was ever missing through injury or suspension, the 27-year-old will have his fingers crossed ahead of this weekend's trip to Wolves if his teammate is to be on the sidelines.

However, if Lo Celso is to remain on the bench at a time when Maddison isn't in the team then that may leave him questioning his Tottenham future. Clearly making an impression on Postecoglou at Hotspur Way but yet to get the minutes he desperately craves, the ex-Real Betis man just needs that opportunity to demonstrate to his boss that he can play a big role for the team - either from the bench or starting XI - between now and the end of the campaign.

Oliver Skipp is another midfielder available to Postecoglou this weekend, although a role on the bench looks increasingly likely as he is a defensively-minded player after all and Tottenham will need someone in the middle who can influence play going forward. Bentancur and Lo Celso will be the two leading the way to start if Maddison is absent, thus leaving Postecoglou with a tough choice to make between the pair.