Jan Vertonghen missed Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat at Chelsea with a hip injury, the club confirmed before kick-off.
Spurs fell to their eighth Premier League defeat of the season at Stamford Bridge. Pedro’s opener and Kieran Trippier’s disastrous own goal secured victory for the hosts.
The build-up to the game was dominated by talk of who would start between the sticks for Chelsea after Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to be substituted in the EFL Cup final on Sunday.
Willy Caballero got the nod in the end but Tottenham rarely troubled the stand-in goalkeeper.
Spurs themselves were troubled at the back, and they will hope to have Vertonghen back for Saturday’s north London derby against Arsenal.
Before the game, Pochettino said: “Yesterday he felt a problem with his hip so he’s not available. Hopefully, it’s not a big issue and he can be available for the next game.”
Pedro opened the scoring on the hour, dribbling past Toby Alderweireld and slotting the ball through the legs of Hugo Lloris.
With 10 minutes remaining, Trippier and Lloris were involved in a mix up and the right-back’s pass trickled past his goalkeeper and into the net for Chelsea’s second.
If Vertonghen does return this weekend, Pochettino may be tempted to switch to a back three.
