Toby Alderweireld is set to be out injured until the new year in a shattering blow to Tottenham – and fans have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment at the bombshell.
Mauricio Pochettino explained at his media briefing ahead of the north London derby on Saturday that the Belgium international, 28, will be sidelined for longer than initially expected.
Alderweireld broke down in the first half of Spurs’ 3-1 Champions League win over Real Madrid on 1 November and the early prognosis from the Tottenham manager was that he would be back by the end of this month.
But Pochettino revealed that the defender has suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for around two months.
“Toby is out. We need to assess him,” Pochettino said, as quoted by the Sky Sports website. “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.”
Spurs fans are shattered at losing one of their key players to a long-term injury as the expectancy is that he will mean around 12 matches in the run-up to the Christmas period.
It was universally hailed as a massive blow, although some took comfort in the form of the other defenders, including Davinson Sanchez, Jan Vertonghen and the versatile Eric Dier.
This Is Futbol has rounded up the best tweets:
Toby news is devastating. Literally. He’s not only a rock at the back in games like this but not a bad bet for grabbing a goal aswell. Massive miss at both ends of the pitch. Get back soon @AlderweireldTob we need you. #COYS
— OneHotspurs (@Onehotspurs) November 16, 2017
Gutted about the news about Toby. ????#COYS #THFC
— Nick Davison (@nick_davison10) November 16, 2017
Is there a story behind these long term injuries #thfc are suffering? Seems to be happening all too frequently. Lamela, Rose, Wanyama, Toby… #COYS
— Daniel Adams (@DanielA50231990) November 16, 2017
Of course losing Toby Alderweireld for a sustained period is a huge blow however Davinson Sánchez’s adaptation to the Premier League has been nothing short of magnificent, add to that Jan Vertonghen who has hands-down been our player of the season far, been colossal. #COYS#THFC
— Ricky Sacks ???? (@RickSpur) November 16, 2017
Not good news regarding Toby being out now until after Xmas but that’s why you pay £42 million for players like Sanchez #COYS
— Andrew Leason (@ANDREW0675) November 16, 2017
Ergh. You just knew Toby would be out for a while. At least we have cover #COYS
— Roan ?? (@proroan) November 16, 2017
Just seen that Mauricio Pochettino said Toby Alderweireld will be out until the New Year with hamstring injury. We will miss him. However.
We need him to sign a contract. So lets get that sorted. #COYS
— Kevin Pamplin (@KevinPamplin) November 16, 2017
Toby Alderweireld ????
Didn’t expect him to play on the weekend but didn’t think he’d be out till the new year #coys
— Jay1882 (@Jay_1882) November 16, 2017