It could once again be all change at centre-back for Tottenham on Sunday when they return to Premier League action against Wolves. On the losing side last time out at Nottingham Forest, Spurs were dealt another injury blow on the cusp of full-time with Radu Dragusin exiting the field through injury.

Already without centre-backs Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies, Ange Postecoglou called upon Yves Bissouma to fill in at the back for the final minutes of the 1-0 defeat. Tottenham are now sweating on the fitness of Dragusin going into the Wolves fixture and the hope will be that he recovers in time to take his place in the team.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference about Dragusin's fitness, Postecoglou said: "Bit early to tell, he obviously tweaked his ankle and felt like he couldn't continue, we'll just have to wait and see. Wait until he gets in today and then assess it from there."

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Admitting prior to the Nottingham Forest game that Davies had returned to training and could possibly take his place in the matchday squad over the festive period, the Welshman has unfortunately suffered a setback in training and faces another couple of weeks on the sidelines. That does raise the possibility of Tottenham missing all four of their experienced centre-backs this weekend.

Archie Gray has filled in well at the heart of defence recently but Tottenham may now be in a position where the 18-year-old is their most experienced centre-back against Wolves. The Durham-born ace is a midfielder by trade but has started the past five games as a centre-back, which in turn only highlights the current plight of the team's injury woes.

If indeed Dragusin is in no position to play, it remains to be seen who will partner Gray at the heart of defence. Despite Bissouma's late cameo appearance in the position, Postecoglou's comments in his pre-match press conference appear to indicate that the Mali international won't be starting there.

He said: "I don’t know. I mean Yves has never played there so I am not sure why I would put him there. I had to put him there last night because I had no one else, but we’ll see. We’ll see what happens."

Other options available to Postecoglou include switching a full-back across to centre-back or maybe even pushing Rodrigo Bentancur into defence. It's certainly not a position Bentancur is familiar with but he is slightly taller than Bissouma and he would perhaps be more composed in defence compared to his fellow midfielder.

The other option at Postecoglou's disposal, and one that wouldn't be square pegs in round holes, would be to hand academy ace Alfie Dorrington his full debut against Wolves. A centre-back who is rated incredibly highly by the club, it would appear to be the perfect chance to blood the 19-year-old and give him the opportunity in the team that he has been waiting for.

Dorrington has featured on the Tottenham bench five times this season, with two of those appearances in the matchday squad coming in the Premier League. The Enfield-born defender did in fact come on for his senior bow in the recent 5-0 win at Southampton as he took the place of Djed Spence with 13 minutes of the contest remaining.

Tottenham were rather short at centre-back in pre-season but Dorrington was not in a position to profit after having to undergo surgery on his hamstring in May. Subsequently returning to action in late September in the EFL Trophy, the academy starlet has featured for the club's youngsters in Premier League 2 this season and so far has six appearances to his name in 2024/25.

While of course there will be doubts about potentially throwing Dorrington straight into the starting XI due to his lack of senior football if Dragusin is out, he at least has experience in the position and is an out-and-out centre-back. Dorrington, most importantly, has that defensive nous that is required and he is a powerful defender who is very impressive on the ball.

One of Bissouma or Bentancur alongside Gray would offer Postecoglou experience in first-team football but playing at centre-back is alien to them and Spurs right now require someone who knows the position in their hour of need. If Dragusin sits out the Wolves match through injury and Dorrington watches on from the bench with someone else filling in at centre-back then you would have to question if he will ever start a senior game for Tottenham.

After all, Spurs have Romero, Van de Ven and Davies all to return to fitness, a new centre-back could arrive in January, the impressive Luka Vuskovic will link up with the club in the summer following his time in Belgium with Westerlo and Ashley Phillips is also to return once his time on loan at Stoke City comes to an end. It may indeed be a case of now or never for Dorrington in a Tottenham shirt.

Tottenham fans are desperate to see more of the highly-rated youngster at the back given the performances he has produced when coming through the academy. That chance may arrive on Sunday afternoon if Dragusin is to join the long list of players watching on from the stands.

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