LONDON • Such was Mauricio Pochettino's confidence in Dele Alli adapting to a "false nine" role that Tottenham were not going to reinforce their front line, even after the ankle injury suffered by Harry Kane and Son Heung-min's absence due to the Asian Cup.
However, the Spurs manager's plans not to spend in the January transfer market were thrown into disarray on Tuesday night after scans confirmed his worst fears.
Alli suffered a hamstring injury during last Sunday's 2-1 Premier League win at Fulham and the club revealed he would now undergo rehabilitation and is expected to return to training in early March.
The midfielder, who is set to miss a host of key games including the the Champions League last-16 first leg against Borussia Dortmund and a league match at Chelsea, tweeted he was "gutted" with the diagnosis.
He said: "I will do everything in my power to return as quick as possible. Thank you for the messages."
The 22-year-old's six-week spell on the sidelines comes at the worst time for Spurs, with the club looking to defend their one-goal lead going into today's second leg of their League Cup semi-final with Chelsea.
They will travel to Stamford Bridge without Kane, who is out till March, Son and Alli, and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson felt now was "a good time" to play Tottenham.
He told Sky: "If you could say before the game that you can pull out three players from that team, then it would be Kane, Alli and Son."
But Eric Dier insisted Spurs could not feel "sorry for ourselves" and it would not be an excuse if Pochettino's men fail in their attempt to lift their first piece of silverware since 2008.
Insisting the team were not "sulking about it", the midfielder said: "Every team gets injuries, we have to deal with it."
There was better news as they bid to reach their first final in four years while exacting a measure of revenge against the team that beat them in the 2015 League Cup final.
Moussa Sissoko and Victor Wanyama have returned to training along with Lucas Moura who, after a three-game absence, is expected to feature in Alli's absence.
There were also reports of unrest in their London rivals' dressing room.
Manager Maurizio Sarri publicly questioned his men's mental strength and revealed it was "extremely difficult" to motivate them in the wake of last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Arsenal.
While Sky pundit Gary Neville said on his weekend podcast it was now "inevitable that Sarri would get the sack at some point", Marcos Alonso has backed his boss and challenged his teammates to prove they have what it takes to arrest their slide, starting with Spurs.
Amid suggestions that several players are unhappy with his tactics, including playing N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard out of position while favouring Jorginho, Alonso claimed the Blues manager's criticism was justified.
The Spain defender said: "When you lose, you learn. We have to perform again (against Spurs)."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
CHELSEA V TOTTENHAM
Singtel TV Ch111 & StarHub Ch202, tomorrow, 3.45am
I recently moved to a new apartment and barely got my internet installed again. I have spectrum's 100 megabits per second, I had it before and didn't have a problem with it when I had it at my old house.The problem I;m having right now is that the router sits in the living room like it did at my old house, and whenever I go to one of the rooms or go to the restroom the speed throttles severely.
How to read signal strength in dbm's | Tom's Hardware Forum
Eden Hazard scores the winning penalty as Chelsea edge past Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties to set up an all-English Europa League final against Arsenal.
Chelsea beat Eintracht Frankfurt in shootout to reach Europa
Mourinho's huge pay-off fails to dent Manchester United's record quarter Financial results reveal compensation payments following December departure cost £19.6million.
Man United confirm enormous pay-off to Jose Mourinho
Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar on Sunday left the door open for a potential move to Spanish giants Real Madrid. The world's most expensive footballer is currently recovering from a foot injury which he suffered on January 23 and has been linked with a return to La Liga ever since joining PSG from Barcelona in 2017.
Football: Neymar hints at joining Real Madrid, Football News
Liverpool face a testing Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, but have made a statement by reaching the last four for the second straight year and are equipped to deal with the very best, manager Juergen Klopp said.
Official Liverpool FC Store | Liverpool FC Ball
AD
store.liverpoolfc.com/ball
Report Ad
Browse Our Wide Range Of Exclusive Liverpool FC Souvenirs. Shop Online Now.
Barcelona put one hand on La Liga title after edging past Sociedad Barca lead the standings on 77 points after 33 games, comfortably clear of nearest challengers Atletico Madrid who won 1-0 at
Barca put one hand on title after edging past Sociedad
Football: Jurgen Klopp fires up Liverpool with 'It's only pain' motto, Pep Guardiola urges City to 'be precise' 0:0 Comments Swimming: Toh Wei Soong finds inner strength to win first gold medal for Singapore at World Series 0:0 Comments Tennis: Halep beats Bencic to reach fourth Madrid Open final 0:0 Comments
Football: Liverpool's defence stands tall ahead of Arsenal test
Injuries open way for Sanchez and Lukaku to shine for United Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku must both take their opportunity to "They've been part of our training for a long time now
Injuries open way for Sanchez and Lukaku to shine for United
Jaguars ban four fans who threw objects in Seahawks game. The Jacksonville Jaguars announced officials have banned four fans responsible for throwing objects during Sunday's game at EverBank
What happens when you are banned for life from a baseball
Women's World Cup: Hegerberg-less Norway canter past Nigeria
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has urged his players to give "every fibre of their bodies" in the battle for the Premier League title. Manchester City moved to the top of the league on Wednesday for the first time since December after Klopp's side limped to back-to-back draws against Leicester City and West Ham United.
Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool will fight with every fibre for
Juventus 2-1 AC Milan: Moise Kean puts Juve on brink of Serie
Southampton secured their Premier League status for another year after a thrilling 3-3 home draw with Bournemouth on Saturday as Cardiff City slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Fulham. The draw put
Southampton stay up after thrilling 3 3 draw with Bournemouth
0 comments:
Post a Comment