Tottenham boss Antonio Conte says Harry Kane was fatigued against Nottingham Forest as they bow out of the Carabao Cup

It was a day of upset at the Carabao Cup for many Premier League clubs. Nottingham Forest also defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 as Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard made the difference between the two teams despite the fact that midfielder Orel Mangal got sent off at the 75th minute but they delivered a sensational performance to knock Anthonio Conte’s men out of the cup competition.

After the defeat Conte made some shocking revelation where he shared how their talismanic striker Harry Kane was low on energy and massively fatigued and hence he has no impact in the game. The fact that Kane his 12th game in 39 days should be a feat for any player and still he had the courage to make himself available for the clash against Nottingham Forest was really very commendable.

“It was a problem of tiredness and he was really, really tired,” said Conte. “Yesterday [Tuesday] we had a soft training session and at one point he stopped to recover energy. But he’s OK, it’s only fatigue but normal because Harry played every game.”

The Italian tactician shared the dire straits of how they had to be reassured about his conditions and had no other option but to play him as they did not have many alternatives upfront. “When you have a player like him it’s difficult to decide you don’t play with him. Until this morning we waited to see if he could start or not, but in this situation he was the only striker available.

“It was difficult for Kane today. It’s really strange, in the future I hope we don’t face another situation like this. These are the thoughts of every coach.”
Conte also shared his concerns over Danish midfielder Pierre Emil Hojberg who was taken off at halftime as a precautionary measure as the former Bayern man has been playing regularly in a short span of time.
It was a very disappointing defeat against Nottingham Forest despite considering the fact that many players were fatigued and were not at their physical best condition. But still it is an opportunity missed for the Lillywhites.
Forest on the other hand were outstanding as they capitalized the opportunity with full authority. Atletico Madrid loanee Renan Lodi handed the lead before Jesse Lingard scored the second goal putting the game beyond doubt.
Tottenham’s form before the World Cup is very concerning and the Italian tactician will hope that his team will bounce back after the quadrennial tournament and hopefully their season will be back on track. “I think maybe tonight the energy was really poor for us,” said Conte.
“Don’t forget it was the 12th game in a really short period. The games we played in the past, every game was really difficult and we lost a lot of mental energy in the Champions League and in the Premier League.”
Antonio Conte admitted that their energy was all over the place and hence even with the desire to go further in the Carabao Cup they simply could not put up a fight against Forest. “In our hearts and minds was the desire to go ahead in this competition, but the difference was the energy. It was really different between us and Forest,” Conte signed off.