Tottenham Hotspur beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in an away game on Saturday but it was a tough win for Mauricio Pochettino's team, who have been battling through injuries since the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Hugo Lloris, Davinson Sanchez, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Danny Rose, Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min all competed for their countries in Russia from June 14 to July 15.

Watching their players get drained is one thing but having nine of them play till the semi-finals made things much worse for Tottenham. Nine of the twelve players at the tournament suffered from injuries at the beginning of the 2018-19 Premier League season. Only Kane, Alderweireld and Son were exceptions, and they were all visibly fatigued.

The World Cup was not the only cause for Tottenham's injury problem. The new Premier League season began on August 10, earlier than the other major European soccer leagues, meaning there wasn't enough time for teams to rest and recover. Moreover, Tottenham did not buy any new players in the summer transfer window. With only limited resources for rotation, Pochettino could not ensure that everyone got fully rested, increasing the odds of a player getting hurt.

After 12 games, Tottenham ranked fourth on the standings, five points behind current leaders Manchester City. In the past several seasons, the team improved in the second half of the season but that might not be the case this time. Unless Tottenham acquires some quality players during the winter transfer window, they may find themselves in trouble after January 2019.