Tottenham Hotspur may have reason to be concerned because three of their key players are nursing fitness issues on international duty, according to EPSN.
The Belgian national team have confirmed via their Twitter account that Toby Alderweireld is suffering from a stomach bug and will not travel with them to Portugal.
.@AlderweireldTob still feeling ill. He will not travel to Portugal. Get well soon Toby! #porbel
— BelgianRedDevils (@BelRedDevils) March 28, 2016
The world number one ranked team play Portugal in a friendly in Lisbon on Tuesday – a fixture rearranged from Brussels following last week’s terrorist attacks in Belgium.
ESPN adds that Alderweireld’s Belgium teammate Mousa Dembele, and Argentina’s Erik Lamela, have also been struggling with an ankle knock and muscle strain respectively.
But ESPN reports that Dembele and Lamela are both on the mend. The latter had missed training but is available for Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Bolivia on Wednesday.
That will be a relief to Tottenham ahead of a massive Premier League trip to Liverpool on Saturday, but Alderweireld’s illness might be a worry, such is his importance to the team.
The 27-year-old has not missed a single minute of Tottenham’s league campaign, and the club’s other senior central defender – Jan Vertonghen – has not played since January.
SEE MORE:
Tottenham star responds to suggestions he is best player in his position in Premier League
Arsenal great ignores Gunners & includes four Tottenham players in his England Euro 2016 XI
Predicting Premier League title race game-by-game: Leicester, Tottenham or Arsenal to be champions?