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Mauricio Pochettino has indicated that Christian Eriksen, Clinton N'Jie, and Mousa Dembélé will not feature for Tottenham in their journey north to the Stadium of Light.
Mauricio on TEAM NEWS: "@ChrisEriksen8 is close but not yet fit. @Mousadembele is doubtful. Clinton is also close." pic.twitter.com/fIdkaanlG5
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 11, 2015
Without a full preseason, new signing Clinton N'Jie needs more time to gain fitness while Christian Eriksen, who started in our opener against Manchester United, will look to play it safe and give his injured knee another week of rest. Mousa Dembélé, who was stretchered off the pitch against Everton, has avoided a major knee injury, but will most likely not factor in Sunday's match against Sunderland. Which leads us to the good news in all of this, the path is cleared for Heung-Min Son to debut.
Mauricio: "Son is in better condition because he played, scored 3 for South Korea & trained well. He’s available." pic.twitter.com/q5rPdwZglY
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 11, 2015
Promising words from a sometimes inflexible manager, who does not make haste when blooding new signings into the first team. The chips have fallen perfectly for our lovable South Korean. Beyond the obvious pace and skill that he brings to the team, our attacking band is a bit depleted at the moment. This confluence of events makes an appearance a formality, and a start, a distinct possibility. It also mean that CFC's tyrannical overlord, Dustin Menno, has officially destroyed his competition in the midfield predictions post from yesterday.
Lastly, this injury report signals that some interesting players might take the field for Tottenham on Sunday. Many would love to see Dele Alli or Alex Pritchard handed at least another substitute appearance, while Tom Carroll could be an option if Tottenham are too direct in their play. Finally, there is Lamela. His move was blocked to Marseille to presumably play a role for Spurs in the 2015-16 season. He has four months before the January transfer window opens, this match might be among the last opportunities he has to wipe away the carnage from our collective memories of those final thirty minutes at Stoke.