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We have been waiting with baited breath for news about Toby Alderweireld’s hamstring, and when he might return to the Tottenham Hotspur squad. Today, in a press conference ahead of Wednesday’s match against Brighton & Hove Albion, manager Mauricio Pochettino announced that Toby received a scan of his hamstring and that he could return to the side in February.
#thfc team news: The latest estimate is that Toby Alderweireld will be back in February. Victor Wanyama did the warm-up in training yesterday.
— Ben Pearce (@BenPearceSpurs) December 12, 2017
That’s not quite what we were hoping for, but it’s better than what it could’ve been. It does, however, make things a bit of a race if Alderweireld is to return and get fit in time for Spurs’ Champions League match against Juventus in Turin.
Here is Spurs schedule for February, as things stand now.
- Sat. February 3: @ Liverpool
- Sat. February 10: v. Arsenal
- Wed. February 13: @ Juventus (UCL)
- Sat. February 17: [FA Cup Fifth Round]
- Sat. February 24: v. Crystal Palace
That’s a pretty brutal stretch and it would be very nice to have Toby back for a couple of those games. Earlier would be nice too, but we also know that Poche takes his time bringing injured players back into the squad. It’s quite possible that we might not see Toby play meaningful minutes until at least the FA Cup fifth round match (assuming Spurs get past Wimbledon).