Tottenham injury news: Double boost for Pochettino ahead of Arsenal showdown

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With the end of the international break rapidly approaching, focus will switch back to domestic matters with Tottenham facing a huge clash this weekend.

Spurs take on Arsenal in the north London derby at the Emirates on Saturday, with the game arguably representing an opportunity to further prove that they have surpassed the Gunners for right now as the top team in their rivalry.

On top of that, Mauricio Pochettino’s men will want to keep up the pace with Man Utd in second place and to apply pressure on Man City as they look to close an eight-point gap between themselves and the Premier League leaders while a win would move them seven points clear of Arsenal in the standings.

In turn, along with all the other factors that come into play for a derby with supporters’ pride on the line, Pochettino will be buoyed by the latest injury updates on his squad.

As per freelance injury analyst Ben Dinnery in the tweets below, he claims that not only will Jan Vertonghen be in line to play for Belgium this week after an ankle problem, midfield ace Mousa Dembele could be targeting his first start since August.

Both come with a word of caution though as ultimately Vertonghen still needs to be passed fit and to come through the game with Japan on Tuesday unscathed, while it could be argued that the sensible idea would be to leave him out and let him continue to recover without the risk of aggravating the problem.

Meanwhile, Dembele paints an optimistic picture of his current status, but Pochettino will arguably need to err on the side of caution to ensure that the Belgian international doesn’t suffer another setback having been blighted by injuries in recent times.

Nevertheless, it’s positive news for Tottenham as they’ll go into the clash with Arsenal full of confidence given their recent run of form both in the league and in Europe.

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