With Tottenham Hotspur having plenty of reasons to cheer as we took a small advantage in the Champions League quarter-final tie with Manchester City last midweek, two obvious blows for manager Mauricio Pochettino were the injury substitutions of both Harry Kane and Dele Alli.
With it known that Kane has suffered ‘significant’ ankle ligament damage and will likely – albeit still to be confirmed – ruled out for the remainder of the campaign, it has also been confirmed that Alli has suffered a fracture of the left hand, and although these days with players capable of playing in casts it can’t be considered serious, it does bring his involvement this weekend into doubt, as he will need a few days to let it settle.
It also stands to reason from a confidence point of view, he’ll need to be eased slightly back into full contact training so he gets a belief in the cast and any subsequent pain management.
Speaking to Sky Sports on Friday, Pochettino admitted as much.
“We need to assess him Friday afternoon and on Saturday, and take the decision. To be honest, I’m not optimistic. He’s broken his hand in two parts and it’s so painful and today we need to see how he’ll deal with this situation. I’m not too optimistic for Saturday but I’m more optimistic for him to be available for the second leg against Manchester City, but we’ll see and we’ll take the best decision for everyone.”
Given the layout of the fixtures and the season we are having, with Kane definitely out, it makes all the sense in the world to me for Alli to get the weekend off, then look to the second leg against Manchester City if we look to priorities.