Mauricio Pochettino has attempted to play down Tottenham’s injury crisis despite five players being ruled out of Wednedsay night’s Champions League clash with Barcelona.
The Spurs boss confirmed Hugo Lloris is fit again and will start for Spurs at Wembley.
But Dele Alli (hamstring), Christian Eriksen (abdomen), Mousa Dembele (thigh), Jan Vertonghen (hamstring) and Serge Aurier (thigh) are all set to sit out both the Barcelona game and this weekend’s Premier League outing against Cardiff city.
TEAM NEWS: @dele_official (hamstring), @ChrisEriksen8 (abdomen), @mousadembele (thigh), @JanVertonghen (hamstring) and @Serge_aurier (thigh) will not be available before the international break.#COYS pic.twitter.com/sKdFz6rzxT
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 2, 2018
Michel Vorm will miss Barcelona – he was unlikely to play a part anyway – but will return to training later this week.
However, Pochettino is refusing to be down on Tottenham’s current injury situation, insisting the fit players must now step up and perform.
“We have players with different injuries – it’s not a pattern that happens from something specific,” Pochettino said (via @SpursOfficial).
“We are not victims though – we must feel strong. Every player must feel they can win and achieve what we want.”
It’s unclear whether the players mentioned above will be available to feature for their countries during the international break, which commences after the Cardiff match.
There is a good chance Spurs will try to get them out of international duty so that they can return to full fitness sooner rather than later.
