Toby Alderweireld will miss the north London derby after revealing he will be out for “a few weeks” with the injury he sustained in Tottenham’s 3-1 Champions League win against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
The centre-back limped out of the Wembley clash after just 24 minutes clutching his hamstring following an attempted sprint, with scoreline still 0-0.
Moussa Sissoko replaced Alderweireld as Eric Dier dropped back into the three-man backline and Tottenham went on to secure a memorable triumph, courtesy of a Dele Alli double and a Christian Eriksen goal.
Alderweireld confirmed that he would undergo scans on the injury to assess the damage but revealed he was still in discomfort after the game had finished, and that he expected to be out of action for at least a couple of weeks.
Belgian journalist Kristof Terreur quoted his countryman on his personal Twitter account as saying “I will be out for a few weeks” with the hamstring problem.
Toby Alderweireld limping through the mixed-zone. He has a hamstring strain. “I will be out for a few weeks.” #thfc pic.twitter.com/eEOu7xZPG2
— Kristof Terreur (@kristofterreur) November 1, 2017
Speaking to ESPN, the 28-year-old added: “”It doesn’t feel very good, we’ll have to see in the next couple of days how it feels.
“Something happened, there’s no chance I could have played on. In the next couple of games, I’ll have a scan and we’ll take it from there.”
OPINION
This is a shattering blow for Spurs. Hamstring strains usually require at least three weeks on the sidelines, and Alderweireld confirmed the nature of the injury in the immediate aftermath of Wednesday’s win. This means he will not only miss the Sunday home clash against Crystal Palace, but the trip to Arsenal on 18 November and also the Champions League fixture against Borussia Dortmund. Alderweireld has started all but one of Spurs’ fixtures across all competitions this season, and Mauricio Pochettino will probably now regret starting him against West Ham in the League Cup last week.