Dele Alli has been ruled out of Tottenham’s Premier League clash against West Ham this weekend, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper claim the Spurs attacking midfielder will play no part in the Saturday afternoon clash at the London Stadium due to a thigh injury that has kept him out of the club’s last three matches.
The Standard report Alli is definitely out but it remains to be seen if he will joined on the sidelines by the likes of Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele, Serge Aurier and Danny Rose, who have also missed matches due to injury in the last few weeks.
OPINION
Losing Alli is a major blow for Tottenham. Outside of main man Harry Kane, he is, along with Son Heung-Min, the most likely source of a goal for Mauricio Pochettino’s side and will be sorely missed in the London derby against the improving Hammers. Alli has been absent now for nearly a month as Spurs’ injury crisis shows no signs of abating. The club are seemingly paying the price for the involvement of so many of their players in the latter stages of the World Cup, where England and Belgium, for whom they provide so many regulars, both went all the way to the third place play-off. Alli is a key player for club and country, and would be in the starting XI if he was available. Is his injury more serious than Tottenham initially let on? The club have a history of underplaying injuries (Danny Rose and Victor Wanyama knee problems were the perfect examples, as was Erik Lamela’s hip injury) and it is a huge concern that such a key man is still missing.