Tottenham are entering a key period of the season with a packed fixture list, and Mauricio Pochettino won’t be entirely happy with the injury situation.
Spurs have moved up to third in the Premier League table, while they’re now unbeaten in their last 11 games in all competitions.
They’ve managed to do that with a number of key players missing time through injury, and the hope will naturally be that they can boast a fully-fit squad sooner rather than later in order to sustain their impressive start over the course of an entire campaign with quality depth in each position.
As seen in the tweets below though, it isn’t all positive. On one hand, Danny Rose is expected to make his comeback from injury in the League Cup meeting with West Ham United on Wednesday night, his first start for almost nine months as he hasn’t featured since last season.
While that’s a huge boost despite the impressive form of Ben Davies and others, Tottenham fans will have to wait a little longer to see Erik Lamela back in action.
Danny Rose is poised for his first start in almost 9 months against West Ham. #CarabaoCup #COYS
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) October 24, 2017
#thfc Pochettino on Erik Lamela: "“He’s doing well but he’s not available. After a year [out], I cannot say tomorrow, one week or one month"
— Ben Pearce (@BenPearceSpurs) October 24, 2017
The Argentine playmaker has now been out for a full year due to his injury struggles, and it’s a huge shame for him and the club to see that he’s still unable to put it behind him.
As noted above, Pochettino has suggested that the latest update is positive, but ultimately he couldn’t give a definitive answer as to when Lamela will return to action.
Tottenham face a pivotal few weeks as they take on Manchester United and Arsenal in the league, while they also face decisive tests against Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League group.
In turn, having the likes of Rose and Lamela back will be huge for them, but it may just be the former for now who edges closer to forcing his way back into the starting line-up.