Five senior Tottenham players will be sidelined until at least the end of October, according to a reliable journalist.
Football London’s Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold revealed on his personal Twitter account early on Tuesday afternoon that Dele Alli, Serge Aurier, Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen will “not be available before the international break”.
Spurs injury news: Lloris (thigh) – available for selection. Vorm (knee) – to return to training this week. Dele (hamstring), Serge Aurier (thigh), Mousa Dembele (thigh), Christian Eriksen (abdomen), Jan Vertonghen (hamstring) – will not be available before international break.
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) October 2, 2018
The key quintet will miss Spurs’ Champions League clash against Barcelona on Wednesday night as well as Saturday’s home Premier League fixture against Cardiff City.
OPINION
Tottenham are not only horribly exposed against the Spanish champions for the marquee match under the Wembley lights, but they will also be without Eriksen, Vertonghen, Dembele, Aurier and Alli at the weekend. Talk about a shattering series of blows that leaves the team massively weakened. Of the five, four of them would be certain starters against Barcelona, and Aurier might well be in the XI, too. There is seemingly now no chance of the five playing until the London derby against West Ham on 20 October. At the very least. The team will struggle to cope without Eriksen’s artistry, Alli’s goal creating and scoring potential, Vertonghen’s expert defending and Dembele’s shrewd play in the centre of the park. Aurier also rotates the right-back role with Kieran Trippier and is a key squad man. Spurs do not have the biggest squad anyway after failing to sign a single player in the summer.