Mauricio Pochettino believes Dele Alli could be out of action for another “two weeks” due to the “massive injury” he suffered back in January. The Tottenham midfielder has been sidelined for nearly five weeks with a hamstring injury, but he is nearing a recovery.
There’s a slim chance Dele could be back within seven days if he responds well to his treatment, but Pochettino admitted his return could take longer if the final states of his rehabilitation doesn’t go to plan. Tottenham have a North London derby against Arsenal on March 2, but that may be too soon.
When asked for an update on the England international, Pochettino said to Football.London in Thursday’s pre-match press conference: “His progression is good. We’re happy. But it’s a massive injury, it’s different how we assess and how we follow and care for him.
“He’s in the last part of his recovery but we’ll see as soon as possible if he can be available to be involved with the team. It’s difficult to know when – maybe one week, ten days, two weeks. It depends on now. He’s in a key part, maybe the last part of his recovery (so) we’re going to assess him day-by-day.”
Dele has made 17 Premier League appearances this season, scoring and creating six goals. The 22-year-old has endured a stop-start campaign due to sporadic injuries so he’ll no doubt be hoping he can see the season out without any more problems.
Tottenham have coped well in his absence, with Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks impressing in the middle of the park and Christian Eriksen supplying the bullets for the forwards in an attacking-midfield role. Spurs have won four consecutive league games and beat Borussia Dortmund in Europe.
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