Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that key midfielder Mousa Dembele is a doubt for the upcoming clash with Swansea.
Spurs travel to the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday for a Premier League clash and their 29-year-old has been dealt a big blow.
Pochettino revealed in his pre-match press conference that the Belgium international was missing from training on Friday and was doubtful for the Swansea match, as cited by ESPN correspondent Dan Kilpatrick on his personal Twitter account.
#thfc Pochettino said Dembele had not trained "with the group" today and is a doubt for Swansea with hip & groin problems after asking to come off against Saints.
— Dan Kilpatrick (@Dan_KP) December 29, 2017
Dembele was forced off in Spurs’ most recent clash against Southampton through injury and is currently struggling with hip and groin problems.
The central midfielder has been plagued by injuries in recent years and it has seen him send long spells on the sidelines.
He is a doubt ahead of Swansea and the north London club face three games in just the space of five days during a hectic New Year Period.
However, there was some reason to cheer as Pochettino further revealed central midfielder Victor Wanyama as made a timely return to full training.
OPINION
Dembele is often named as the players’ player in the Spurs camp and is a highly-rated midfielder that can be unstoppable on his day. However, it seems like injury has once again returned at the worst time and fans will hope that he can be available for a busy fixture list on the horizon. Spurs have looked at their best in the past two years when Dembele and Wanyama have partnered each other in the centre of the park, but that combination has been unable to kick into full gear this season due to injury. Pochettino does fortunately have several options in the centre with the likes of Wanyama, Eric Dier and Harry Winks, but Dembele is arguably the most important of the lot when he is on form.