Arsenal was already without a star for the start of the north London derby, and Tottenham joined them with an early injury to South Korean star Heung-min Son.
The high-flying forward left the 2-1 defeat for Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium after just 19 minutes after pulling up with an upper leg injury that forced him off the pitch.
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The four-time Asian Footballer of the Year has 18 goals and 16 assists this season across all competitions, and was replaced by Erik Lamela, who only went and did this.
Post-game, Mourinho updated the media about the injury to Son.
“I don’t know how long it is. It’s muscular. Muscular is usually not easy. He’s normally a guy who recovers quickly. It’s an accumulation of matches. I gave him 30 minutes rest in the last match, but it’s still 60 minutes,” Mourinho said.
South Korea has a March 25 friendly against Japan, while Spurs face Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday and Aston Villa on Sunday.
It is likely that Son will be missing for a few games, despite Mourinho trying to stay positive, and the Spurs boss is probably going to be cautious. That is the correct approach here.
With a multitude of attacking options to call on, Mourinho needs to give Son a rest as he aims to win the League Cup and Europa League to salvage this season.
Son is tough to replace, but the last thing Tottenham want to do is see him out for the rest of the season.
As for Arsenal in the north London derby, they started Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka but not Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Arsenal’s captain got a surprising benching from Mikel Arteta, who did not hide behind claims of fitness or tactics in describing why the Aubameyang began the game among the subs.