Premier League

Alderweireld to undergo new scan

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Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld will undergo a new scan in two weeks amid fears his lay-off could be even longer than initially feared, according to a reliable journalist.

Correspondent Kristof Terreur, who covers Belgium’s English-based players for Belgian newspaper HLN, revealed on his personal Twitter account on Friday afternoon that the key centre-back will have checks on his torn hamstring in the middle of this month.

Terreur explained that Spurs are being “very careful” with Alderweireld, as the “chances of recurrence [are] high| for such muscle problems.

Alderweireld broke down in the first half of Spurs’ 3-1 Champions League win over Real Madrid on 1 November and Mauricio Pochettino subsequently revealed he will be 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.

“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.”

OPINION

Terreur’s update is a potentially shattering one for Tottenham. Fans hoping the team’s best centre-back will definitely be in action in a month’s time may have to think again. Recent results have highlighted the importance of the brilliant defender, who is as comfortable pinging 60-yard crossfield passes on a sixpence as he is winning headers in both penalty boxes. The Belgian had started all but two of Spurs’ fixtures across all competitions before he broke down against Real and his status as one of the Premier League’s outstanding centre-backs is without question. Davison Sanchez, Jan Vertonghen and Eric Dier are fine defenders but none are yet in the same class as Alderweireld.

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