Thursday 16 November 2017 15:43, UK
Tottenham centre-back Toby Alderweireld will be out until the New Year with a hamstring injury, manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed.
The Belgium international has not featured since November 1 when he was forced off with injury during Spurs' 3-1 Champions League win over Real Madrid.
Pochettino revealed the 28-year-old is set to be sidelined for longer than first expected and is aiming to return to action "maybe" after Christmas.
"Toby is out. We need to assess him," Pochettino said. "We expect he will be out for longer than we did previously. Maybe [Alderweireld will be back] after Christmas. That is the expectation.
"The injury is in his hamstring. He feels disappointed and a little bit sad but in the same way, he is focused now on trying to recover as soon as possible.
"He is working hard, he is in the first stages of his rehab.
"Always, with this type of injury, we have to be cautious. We need to wait."
After undergoing rehabilitation over the last 10 days Dele Alli (hamstring), Harry Kane (knee), Hugo Lloris (groin), Harry Winks (ankle) and Michel Vorm (knee) returned to first-team training on Thursday ahead of the north London derby against Arsenal, live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Pochettino also said that Kane faces a late fitness check ahead of Saturday's game, admitting the striker was not guaranteed to play.
"We need to assess him tomorrow and then see if he can play at the weekend. I can't say a percentage, we need to assess him and make the best decision for him and the team," Pochettino said.
"Of course he is a great player, so important for us. How he feels about the derbies is very passionate and if he scores again against Arsenal, it is fantastic for him and fantastic for us."
