Tottenham confirmed on Monday that Erik Lamela will miss Tuesday’s meeting with Ajax. Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard revealed that the Argentine forward was seen ‘jogging alone with a fitness coach’. If Lamela still isn’t training with the first-team, his return may be weeks away.
The 27-year-old has endured another injury-hit season at Tottenham. Lamela has made 31 appearances in all competitions, but only 18 of them have come in the Premier League and amount to less than 900 minutes of playing time. His last outing for Spurs was against Borussia Dortmund on March 5.
Lamela’s absence comes at a bad time for Tottenham, with Harry Kane (ankle), Heung-min Son (suspended) and Vincent Janssen (ineligible) unavailable. Mauricio Pochettino won’t have a choice of who to play up front against Ajax, as Fernando Llorente and Lucas Moura are the only forwards available.
Lamela had been a regular in the Champions League this season, featuring in eight of Spurs’ 10 European encounters. He contributed three goals for his troubles, amassed 324 minutes of playing time, created four chances, averaged 15 passes-per-game with 78% accuracy and averaged a tackle (10) or interception (2) every 27 minutes.