Erik Lamela is a doubt for Sunday’s north London derby against Arsenal after sustaining a thigh injury in Tottenham’s victory over Inter Milan on Wednesday night.
The Argentinian was substituted after 70 minutes against Inter, and the club has since confirmed he picked up a thigh problem during the game.
TEAM NEWS: @mousadembele (ankle) & @daosanchez26 (hamstring) – continuing rehab@ErikLamela (thigh) – being assessed after sustaining injury v Inter@trippier2 (groin) – undergoing final stages of rehab & conditioning@VictorWanyama (knee) – continuing to receive treatment pic.twitter.com/2GjMXYNhMS
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) November 30, 2018
While Lamela hasn’t been officially ruled out of the Arsenal match, he was still being assessed on Friday afternoon and so it’s likely he has missed crucial training sessions in the build-up to the derby.
Fortunately, Mauricio Pochettino has an array of options in attacking midfield regardless of Lamela’s absence.
We’re likely to see a similar line-up to the XI that started against Chelsea last weekend, with Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son playing behind Harry Kane.
Pochettino has spoken of managing Lamela’s fitness carefully because of his long-standing hip problems. The 26-year-old has already suffered a number of niggling injuries this season.
It’s a shame Spurs won’t be able to call on Lamela from the bench, but Lucas Moura may be able to make an impact as a substitute.
