Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino had a press conference this morning ahead of Sunday’s match against Burnley and gave an update on the team’s injury situation. It’s probably as you would expect: striker Vincent Janssen and Erik Lamela will miss the match at White Hart Lane, while Mousa Dembele is doubtful.
Mauricio: "@mousadembele we need to assess tomorrow and @vincentjanssen is the same. He's improving. We need to see how they are." pic.twitter.com/001p33686k
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 16, 2016
Mauricio: "@vincentjanssen is training with the group. @ErikLamela's improving every day but he's still out. We're happy with his progress."
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 16, 2016
Practically speaking, this is the same news that we got before Wednesday’s match against Hull, but it’s still progressively good news for Janssen and Lamela. Erik, in particular, seems to be closer to a return, and there doesn’t really seem to be a reason to rush him back to action to face a mid-table Burnley side that has a -11 goal differential. The implication is that we could see Lamela back and fit in time for Southampton on December 28, but the New Year’s Day match at Watford is more likely.
Same with Dembele, frankly. Harry Winks didn’t start the Hull match as Poch decided to tactically tinker and play with a 3-4-2-1 formation against the Tigers, but he came in and looked solid as a second half substitute and would be a fine option as Dembele’s substitute, either beside Eric Dier or Victor Wanyama. It seems that Dembele’s situation is more of a knock than a serious injury.
Burnley, meanwhile, are almost completely healthy, with only Icelandic winger Johann Gudmundsson on the injury table for the Clarets.