Six Tottenham players have been ruled of the team’s Premier League opening-day clash against Newcastle United, according to Football London.
The Trinity Mirror site claim that midfielders Harry Winks and Victor Wanyama, attacking midfielders Erik Lamela and Josh Onomah, centre-backs Juan Foyth and Cameron Carter-Vickers will not make the trip to St James Park for Saturday’s 12.30pm kick-off.
Football London report Argentine attacking midfielder Lamela “won’t be out for too long”, while Winks and Onomah are back in training with the trio of Wanyama, Foyth and Carter-Vickers all in rehabilitation.
OPINION
On the face of it, the unavailability of the sextet is a blow, especially as the World Cup nine who reached at least the semi-final stage – Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Danny Rose, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Hugo Lloris – only returned to pre-season training on Monday. But only Wanyama and Lamela would have been in contention to start had they been fully fit, and neither would have been guaranteed to do so. Of the others, Onomah and Carter-Vickers are on the fringes after spending last season out on loan, while Winks and Foyth are highly rated by Pochettino but still not ready to consistently battle for a main role. It is a good time for Newcastle to play Tottenham, and the early kick-off is certainly not a hindrance for the home side, either. Spurs will be weakened in some, way, shape or form, and will do well to get the three points after so many key players have not had a proper pre-season.