Tottenham Hotspur have left Joe Rodon out of their Europa League squad for the knockouts.
Rodon, who was signed in October, was unable to be registered for the group stages due to the registration period passing. He had the ability to join the squad however a spot in the squad has not been made vacant.
Jose Mourinho however has opted to remain with the current squad meaning Rodon will only be eligible for FA Cup and Premier League fixtures.
Rodon’s Wales teammates Ben Davies and Gareth Bale however are in the squad and will face Austrian side Wolfsberger AC in the Round of 16.
“It was a hard decision but a decision where we wanted to show respect for the group,” revealed the Spurs boss.
“We wanted to show respect to the people that started the competition.
“It would be very, very hard for the group to cope with one of the players who was involved to be out.
“We believe that by the emotional impact it has less impact on a player who was not part of the squad to stay out until the end of the season than a player who was part of it, a player who played in the group stage, to get him and to change him. We decided to not go in that direction so it’s Joe the player who is still out.”
The 23-year-old is not classed as a homegrown player as he was trained by Swansea City, like compatriot Ben Davies.
Since his move to North London, Rodon has featured seven times in the Premier League for Spurs, starting their last two matches.
He also featured in their FA Cup wins over Marine and Wolverhampton Wanderers in January.
(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)
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