Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld is reportedly set to miss his side’s clash with Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League this week and is a doubt to face Arsenal on Sunday.
The Belgian international sustained a knee injury in the draw with West Bromwich Albion earlier this month following a collision with teammate Jan Vertonghen.
Having been absent since, Eric Dier has filled in for Mauricio Pochettino in defence, but given Alderweireld’s reliability and consistency at the back, his return will be a welcome boost for the team.
According to respected Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur, it doesn’t look as though Spurs will have him back any time soon though as he is expected to be sidelined for an important week for the club.
Toby Alderweireld won't play against Leverkusen and is a doubt for Arsenal. He is slowly recovering from his knee nerve injury. #thfc #coys pic.twitter.com/RBegmA8sBH
— Kristof Terreur ? (@HLNinEngeland) October 31, 2016
With their hopes of advancing to the knockout stages of the Champions League still on the line, they host Leverkusen at Wembley on Wednesday hoping to secure a positive result and remain in the top two in their group with Monaco pushing to displace them.
Further, Pochettino’s side are now without a win in five games across all competitions and have fallen three points behind their rivals at the top of the Premier League table.
With the highly-anticipated north London derby fast approaching, Terreur has suggested that Alderweireld may not recover in time and so that will undoubtedly come as a huge disappointment for Spurs.
Harry Kane has also been out due to injury in recent weeks, but there have been suggestions that he could be rushed back at the weekend in order to help his side’s barren run in front of goal.