Tottenham will be without captain Son Heung-min for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round match at home against Manchester City.

Son returned after a three-match absence with a hamstring injury to score against West Ham earlier this month, but reported “pain” after the October 19 win and missed the games against AZ. Alkmaar and Crystal Palace.

Postecoglou revealed that the attacker will again be absent for the visit of City, but should return for the Premier League match against Aston Villa on Sunday.

“Son, no. Well, he’s almost fit, but from our perspective we’ll probably pencil him in for the weekend. “We are pretty sure he will be fine for the weekend,” Postecoglou confirmed.

“The only one missing, which is a little disappointing, is Wilson (Odobert). He had a setback during the week and it seems to be serious, so we are waiting for more information.

“And then since the weekend, everyone else is fine and Djed (Spence) is back training.”

Mikey Moore, 17, started in place of Son during the 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace, but may be left on the bench against City with Timo Werner out of form and Richarlison candidates to start at left forward.

Pep Guardiola has repeatedly said that Manchester City will not waste energy in the Carabao Cup this season, but Postecoglou expects a certain level of performance from the visitors.

Postecoglou added: “I think it’s fair to say that most clubs rotate in the Carabao Cup, but you only have to look at Man City’s record in this competition and they are a fantastic football club.

“It is very difficult in this league and in this country to maintain that excellence for the time they have.

“They do it because, regardless of who they play, there is a level of performance that they continually deliver, whether they’ve rotated the team or not, or whatever the competition.”

As for his own team, Postecoglou was cautious about whether it would be his strongest eleven.

“Obviously City played on Saturday (against Southampton), so we have to make sure that the players we put in tomorrow are able to compete physically with what will be on the other side of the pitch,” Postecoglou admitted.

“The good thing is that the whole team has had some form of football, which means that whatever changes we make, the players who come in are at a good physical level.”

Tottenham have not won a trophy since 2008 but Postecoglou insisted they cannot choose which games they consider most important in a seven-day week in which many fans will place more importance on the cup clash with City than the visit of Villa on Sunday.

Postecoglou reflects: “I would hate to think that any follower of this football club would think that I put more effort into one game than another.

“The fans can feel whatever they want, which is the most important game. But it would be the biggest injustice to me as a coach if I said, “Tomorrow we’re going to try harder than we did last weekend or last weekend.”

“Our responsibility is to try to be the best we can be every day for our fans, for all of us who are part of this football club. It’s not about trying to score points. “That is not our role.”