Mauricio Pochettino has all but confirmed Toby Alderweireld will miss the second leg of Tottenham’s last-16 Champions League tie with Juventus.
Alderweireld returned to training in late January following a three-month lay-off with a hamstring injury he picked up against Real Madrid.
The Belgian has featured in FA Cup games against Newport County and Rochdale over recent weeks, but Pochettino left him out of the squad in big games against Arsenal and Juventus.
The Spurs manager’s justified his decision by claiming Alderweireld was not ready to play in high-intensity matches, something the player reportedly disagreed with.
But Pochettino was seemingly proven right after the defender suffered a slight recurrence of his hamstring injury.
Alderweireld’s was absent for Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace, and Pochettino has suggested the 28-year-old will also miss next week’s Champions League clash with Juventus.
“He is still not participating with the group,” said Pochettino (via the Guardian). “The answer is clear.”
Meanwhile, Jan Vertonghen is expected to be back for the Juventus game and possibly could even make this weekend’s meeting with Huddersfield at Wembley.
He will, however, miss tonight’s FA replay against Rochdale. Our predicted XI is here.
